


Crimson Souls

by bluetulips1414



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Character Death, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, F/M, Falling In Love, First Book (of at least two), Fluff and Angst, M/M, Minor Original Character(s), Riddle at Hogwarts Era, Shift in Eras, Slow Burn, Wizarding World (Harry Potter), Work In Progress, Young Tom Riddle
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-17
Updated: 2021-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-12 04:29:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 26,853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29504142
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluetulips1414/pseuds/bluetulips1414
Summary: Ongoing fic in the Tom Riddle era at Hogwarts (eventual shift in eras). From female OC's (Cressida Lefevre) POV. I am trying to be as canon compliant as possible for the beginning of the story, but eventually there will be a shift in which the majority of the cannon universe is out the window.The fic begins in Year 5 and will go years beyond.This is also taking place about the peak of Grindenwald's wartime.DISCLAIMER: I do not support JKR's utterly disgusting transphobic views.This is my first public fanfic, so any feedback at all would be great. I will try to update as much as possible, I may go on a schedule if this gets some readers, as well as social media specific to my writing accounts.Please enjoy and let me know what you think! :)Stay safe and remember I love you all very much!
Relationships: Abraxas Malfoy/Original Character(s), Tom Riddle/Original Character(s)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 2





	1. Prologue: Nights of Wrath

November 11th, 1932

Elora Lefevre sat on her red love seat as she watched the rain pound against the old windows. The storm that was blowing through Nice that night was not pleasant. Despite the fire that was cracking right alongside her, the Hall in Lefevre Manor was unusually cold. Elora was lost in her thoughts as she studied the slight amount of dust that had been built up on the windowsill. She was too absorbed within her own head to do anything about it.

Thunder cracked, seemingly right above the manor, as her husband, Sebastian, walked into the hall holding a glass of Scotch whiskey. He gave his wife a slight smile, of which she paid no attention, and sat down across from her on the leather settee. Elora continued to watch the rain pour down from the dark sky and hit the windows.

“I finally got her down for the night, Lora,” Sebastian said, taking a sip of his Scotch. He set it down with a quiet clunk.

Elora looked up and made the briefest eye contact with her husband before looking back out the window, “Do you really think it is smart to be drinking before she arrives, Sebastian?” 

Sebastian gaped at his wife and sighed, before running his hands through his long blonde curls. Elora watched him out of the corner of her blue eyes, growing increasingly irritated by his actions. She scoffed at him before turning her body away to continue to watch the rain fall. 

Sebastian narrowed his eyes at his wife, now only looking at her backside, her long brown hair falling down her right side. He studied the woman he fell in love with all those years ago. Was this really the same woman that refused to look at him when they both needed the support the most? Their love had never been easy, even on the day that they first met, it was due to an argument that had broken out over their charms class. One that ended in Elora forcing Sebastain to go to the library to prove that she was right. 

She was right, as she usually tended to be. Their love for each other had been born over their shared love for knowledge. Their own library was still not large enough to hold everything they both yearned to learn about. They believed books could cure any argument. In most cases they did.

As Sebastain watched his wife, the candlelight flickering over her beautiful features, highlighting her exceptionally blue eyes, he realized this fight would not be won over their love of knowledge. Sebastain loved Elora with every ounce of his being, but he loved his daughter more. 

Suddenly Elora turned towards her husband, her face etched with extreme worry, “She should have been here by now. It is quarter to eight, she said that she would be here at seven thirty.” 

Sebastian just shrugged his shoulders and picked up the glass that sat half empty in front of him. Elora glared at him as he set the glass back down on the table. He leaned back in the settee and waved his wand at the grand piano, enchanting it to play a soft tune, one Elora recognized his mother used to play when she was alive. She watched her husband stare absentmindedly at the piano. Finally Elora had enough. 

She stood up and stalked over, waving her wand that the piano stopped playing with an off-key g-minor. 

“What was that for?” Sebastian demanded, standing up. 

“You have been no help in all of this, Sebastian! This past week, it has taken everything inside of me not to cry everytime I look at her! Do you know how it feels Sebastian, to not be able to look at your own child for fear of what you might see!”

Sebastian’s face burned with anger, “You shut me out,” he started, pointing his finger at Elora, “Everything that you have said is that same thing I have been feeling. I am terrified for her, Elora. I am terrified of what may become of her. And,” he paused and sucked in a deep breath, “I am scared for us. Scared of what she could do to us if she loses control.” 

Elora stared at her husband for what could have been minutes, but felt like a mere split second before her tears finally fell. She felt Sebastain’s familiar hug wrap around her, she sobbed into his chest, she was terrified, to put it lightly. She did not want to lose her daughter, it would break her. 

“I-I don’t want to lose her,” she cried into Sebastian’s chest, he nodded, beginning to cry as well. They could not lose her. They both knew her loss would destroy their family. A flash of lightning illuminated the couples dancing shadows in the hall. 

Suddenly a whoosh of flames fell out of the fireplace and out stood a tall woman whose jet black hair moved with the wind of the flames. 

“Faye,” Elora whispered, pushing herself away from Sebastian and quickly walked towards the woman, embracing her, “Sorry about that, we were just worried,” nodding back towards Sebastian.

“Nonsense,” Faye said, waving her hand, “I should be the one apologizing, my timing is beyond out of place.”

“It is quite alright,” Sebastian nodded his head, “You are here now, please come sit,” he gestured to the red love seat. 

Faye smiled and elegantly moved towards the seat, her deep purple robes moving with her every step. She paused and turned to look at the anxious couple before sitting down. “Cressida?” she asked, “That is who you are worried about?”

Elora and Sebastain both nodded, sitting down, Elora spoke, “Yes, within the last few weeks she has been continually performing magic that no five year old should, Faye. Her powers are beyond imaginable for a child. And we...” she lost herself looking at Sebastian. 

Sebastian took a deep breath, “The prophecy you gave as soon as we were out of school. Cressida is fitting that description more and more. Faye-”

“Seb,” she began, her deep brown, almond shaped eyes turned a shade of gold whenever she was deep in thought, sometimes before she would give a prophecy, “Sebastian, that prophecy is for years in the future, years beyond our time and possibly beyond Cressida’s. There is no reason to assume that she is the one.”

“Yes, but Faye, do you think that the timing could be off. I know-”

“Elora, have you ever known me to give a false prophecy?”

“No, but-”

“There is no but. Cressida is simply not the one within the prophecy. Be grateful for it. The price of pain that comes to the person I spoke of is great. The person will face great turmoil and loss. Do not wish it upon any person, least of all your own daughter.”

Elora and Sebastian looked at her, stunned. Cressida’s powers were far too great for someone her age and the prophecy seemed like a logical answer to the couple. 

“Now, if you need help in protecting her and understanding her powers, that is something that I can help you with. I will need to see Cressida right now, if that is okay,” Faye asked, and Elora and Sebastain nodded, leading her up to the sleeping girl’s room. 

Faye studied the sleeping girl. From all accounts she looked like a normal girl. There was no denying her beauty, she definitely inherited the beauty that the Lefevre’s have had for generations. Faye muttered a silencing charm that would continue to allow Cressida to sleep, as a crack of thunder shook the manor to its core. 

Faye placed her hand cautiously on top of the sleeping girl’s head. She breathed in her energy, trying to piece together the girl and the powers she held. It was a peaceful experience until her stomach lurched and she was slammed onto the floor, her vision suddenly went black. 

“Faye,” a soft voice, laced with urgency, was saying bringing her back to consciousness, “Faye, are you alright?”

Faye opened her eyes to come face to face with a pair of worried blue eyes. “What did you see, Faye?” Elora asked. 

Faye’s mind was numb from the sheer amount of power she had just felt and seen. 

Faye’s breath hitched and her dark brown eyes closed, “A world full of unimaginable pain and power.” 

Once more, Faye’s world went black.


	2. Hogwarts Welcome

September 1st 1942

“Remember dear, it is to Professor Dippets office,” Elora Lefevre said, holding out a bowl of floo powder to her daughter, Cressida Lefevre. 

Cressida rolled her eyes, standing in the uncomfortable fireplace, “Yes mother, I know, you only said it a thousand times” 

Elora eyed her daughter, a glare that would stop anyone in their tracks, “Cressida Anastasia, I do hope that you do not take that tone with your professors. You are going to a new school and I hope that you will bid your family’s legacy well.”

“Sorry,” Cressida mumbled, before giving her mother an evil smirk, “I suppose I can try and beat fourth place in the class. Honestly Mum, you think that fourth place was a legacy, at Beauxbatons I was first and you are trying to say fourth is a legacy. Really-”

“Oh Cressida, enough!” Elora cried, looking to see her daughter chuckling to herself. It was one of the first times Elora had seen Cressida genuinely look happy in almost a year. Elora let Cressida have her moment. Slowly Cressida’s smile faded as she looked at her mother, waiting for the word. “Are you ready?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll be right behind you and your father should already be there with your trunks and things. Remember, Professor Dippet!”

Cressida nodded and cried out the phrase her mother had been saying for hours on end, “Professor Dippet’s office!” Cressida always hated the Floo Network, she hated the feeling as she twisted round and round. She knew she would have to learn to love apparating when the time came. 

The sensation stopped as she stumbled out of the fireplace into a warm office, coughing up excess soot from the fireplace. A hand was held out, offering her help up, she gladly took it and came face-to-face with a friendly looking grey haired man. 

“Professor Dippet?” she asked, cautiously. 

“Yes! That is me,” the man gave an odd little laugh which Cressida smiled at. From behind the Professor rose a familiar tall figure. 

“Hi Dad!” she smiled, and ran over to give him a hug. “Mum should be coming through any moment.” 

As soon as the words left her mouth, her mother effervescently climbed out of the fireplace with not an ounce of soot on her. 

“Armando!” Elora said warmly, walking over to the small grey man, embracing him. “It is so good to see you again! And I just wanted to thank you for allowing us to come on grounds with Cressida, as hard as this transition has been for her.”

“Not a problem at all my dear! Not a problem at all! I am so excited to see two of my brightest students’ own come to Hogwarts!” He turned to face Cressida. “Now my dear, the students will be arriving by train within the next two hours, so I will let you say goodbye to you parents and then Professor Dumbledore, your transfiguration professor, will be giving you a little tour of the castle. Professor Dumbledore always works extremely well with students and was glad to take the opportunity to show the Lefevre's daughter around! 

After the tour and a brief introduction of our school, which I am sure you have heard all about from your wonderful parents,” he paused to look over and see Elora and Sebastian smiled. “The first years, as tradition will be sorted first. Then after, we will sort you into your respective house and acquaint you with the rest of your fifth years. And there you have it! Professor Dumbleore will gladly help you with any questions along the way today, and feel free to ask me anything, anything at all my dear!” Professor Dippet smiled as Cressida made her way over to her parents. 

“I will disown you if you are not a Hufflepufff,” Sebastian said. Cressida rolled her eyes and laughed. “Seriously I am not joking Cressida. You write to us tomorrow and you say ‘I am anything but a Huffelpuff,’ move in with your Aunt Faye, you are no longer my daughter.”

“Actually,” Elora interjected, “If you are anything but a Gryffindor, those roles apply.” 

“You both are bloody awful,” Cressida sighed, pulling her parents in for a group hug. 

“We love you, Cressie,” Elora whispered to her daughter, “Promise you will write and not shut us out.” 

Cressida nodded into her mother’s shoulders, feeling a lump develop in her throat. 

“Be good, darling,” Sebastian said, pulling away and brushing Cressida’s long blonde hair behind her shoulder. “Be the Lefevre woman your mother is.” 

“In school I was a Lourdes, Seb,” Elora rolled her eyes, nudging her husband in the ribs. She turned to her daughter and gave her a kiss on the top of her head. “Be good.”

“I’ll try,” Cressida said as she watched her parents walk back towards the fireplace. She gave them one last smile as her father first departed and then her mother. 

She turned towards Professor Dippet, surprised to see another, younger man with a short brown beard standing next to him. 

“You are-”

“Professor Dumbeldore,” the man said, offering his hand to Cressida, she shook it. “You must be Cressida Lefevre.”

“Correct, sir.”

“Well come along, Miss Lefevre, there is a lot to see and a little time to do it,” Dumbledore said, gesturing for her to follow outside of the office. 

“I will be here if you need anything at all Miss Lefevre,” Dippet hurriedly said, walking next to Cressida. “Have a great term! Oh I cannot wait to see what you will do here!”

“Thank you sir,” Cressida forced a smile, the man seemed rather irritating and she had only been in his presence for a few minutes. The door to the Headmaster’s Office shut behind the two as Dumbledore took off towards the right. 

“I take it your parents told you about the school?” Dumbledore asked, not looking directly at Cressida. 

“Yes sir, although I do not think that the plans are anything like Beaubaxtons,” Cressida smiled, thinking of her old school. 

“Ah, I suppose not. Beauxbatons is quite a grand castle. Possibly even more grand than at Hogwarts,” he stopped to look at Cressida. “This is the outside of the Gryffindor common room, a place that you would obviously be spending a lot of your time if you are sorted in there. Your mother was a lovely addition to Gryffindor.”

“Yes,” Cressida smiled at the old man, “She said you are a Gryffindor as well?”

“I am,” Dumbeldore smiled kindly back at the blonde girl, as he began walking down a staircase. 

“Well, I hope that you will still appreciate me, even if I am not a Gryffindor.”

Dumbeldore forced a smile, “What was your house at Beauxbatons? If you do not mind me asking, I am aware that there are three, instead of four.”

“Yes,” Cressida smirked as she thought of the times she spent at the French school. “Well I was an Ombrelune. I suppose there is not an observatory dormitory here. Each night it was quite beautiful watching the stars and planets.”

“Unfortunately we do not, there is the Astronomy Tower right over here...” Dumbledore led her up a staircase to show her the view that overlooked all of Hogwarts grounds and the Black Lake. Dumbledore led her around the school, showing her the different classrooms, library, the Great Hall, and the other dormitories. Cressida was trying her best to keep a mental map of the school in her head as she followed Dumbledore to their last stop. 

“Someone should make a bloody pocket map of this place,” she grumbled under her breath as Dumbledore stopped. 

“This is the dungeons. Your potions classroom is right here,” Dumbledore gestured to the right. “And further down the hall, is the Slytherin Common Room. Sorted into Slytherin or not you will be spending plenty of time down here. I looked at your schedule and saw that you are taking potions, and Professor Orsic told me all about how brilliant of a student you are.”

“Professor...Oh! Aunt Faye...,” Cressida could have slapped herself for forgetting her parent’s best friend’s last name. She certainly did not feel in the moment that she deserved the ‘brilliant’ title Faye had coined her.

Dumbeldore’s eye were dancing with amusement. “Yes, your Aunt Faye.” Dumbeldore looked at his pocket watch, “Well, my dear, it seems the students should be arriving at any minute. I am going to take you to a room outside of the Great Hall where you will await for me to come and collect you for your sorting.” 

Cressida nodded and followed the man. Cressida loved the unknown, she was excited to come here to the school that her parents had always talked on and on about. Now that she was here, she missed the sense of familiarity. Or maybe it was just...no. She would not let herself break down on the first day. If she could make it through quidditch practice at Beauxbatons, she could make it through a sorting ceremony. 

“I will be back shortly,” Dumbledore smiled, closing the door and leaving Cressida alone in the small room that overlooked the greenhouse. Dumbeldore folded his hands behind his back as he made his way over to the new group of prefects. The chatter between the few fell silent as he approached them. 

He looked over the group, seeing Dippet’s picks for the first time as well. Unsurprisingly, but somewhat worrisome, Tom Riddle stood within the mix. His dark brown eyes met Dumbledore’s and he quickly turned to face Hufflepuff prefect, Thane McKinnon. 

“Congratulations are in order for all of you on becoming your new house prefects. Professor Dippet did an excellent job as always of picking a new group of students. Now some housekeeping directions…”

Tom focused on Dumbledore, but not on his words. He did not know why the man was talking, he knew the prefects duty inside and out, he had been preparing for receiving his upper status this year which he knew would help with his ultimate plan. Dumbeldore was saying something about the kitchens when a cough brought him back to his senses.. 

“Jesus Riddle, pay attention,” Winnifred Selwyn hissed. “Seriously, it is obvious Dumbeldore does not approve of you as is. Do you want that gleaming badge gone before you even got to use it?” she whispered to him. 

Tom scoffed at her attitude. She was the only person that addressed him in such a manner. Winnifred feared very little, least of all Tom Riddle. 

“Now before you go into the Great Hall I want to inform you all that there is a new transfer student from Beaubaxton’s this year. She is transferring due to the war, her family felt it would be safer for her to complete her education at Hogwarts. So with that in mind, once she is sorted into her respective house, I hope that you all make her feel welcome, as she is a fellow fifth year.”

Tom watched the man carefully ahead of him as they made their way to the Great Hall, he knew that Dumbledore had been watching his actions since his arrival four years ago. He was not necessarily worried about Dumbledore; he was worried about his influence on the other professors. Specifically Slughorn. 

Tom sat down at the empty seat left open between Abaraxas Malfoy and Rheneas Lestrange at the Slytherin table.

The two boys kept their eyes lowered as Tom sat down. Tom smirked to himself, the control he had over the two of them was unbelievable. Not to mention the way they fell over their feet to do anything to attempt to help him. They would be quite useful this year. 

“Good summer then Tom?” Winnifred asked the dark haired boy as she sat down next to Olive Hornbry and Felix Mulcibier.

Tom went to respond but could not get a word out before Olive attempted her own conversation with him.

“Olive, for Merlin’s sake let the man answer before-” Winnifred was cut off by Professor Dippet’s squeaky voice. 

“Welcome back students! Welcome back to another year of fun and more importantly learning at Hogwarts. Now, before we begin with the sorting ceremony, there are a few new announcements for you all,” Dippet took a breath, “The staff here, as well as myself are well aware of the incidents that have been occurring over the past few months regarding the dark wizard known as Grindenwald. Hogwarts is working hand-in-hand with the ministry to assure that all proper measures are being taken that ensures your safety. Now some of those measures include…”

Rather suddenly, a handsome boy with caramel blonde hair arrived at the Slytherin table, disrupting those nearby.

“Move over Rheneas,” the new boy hissed. 

“Where the hell were you Verdell?” Rhenes whispered, while moving slightly to the right. 

Verdell glanced at Tom before focusing again on Rheneas, “None of your concern,” he turned away from Rheneas to listen to the remainder of Dippet’s introduction speech.

“Now the moment that our newest students have been waiting for, the sorting ceremony!” Dippet exclaimed, as he quickly clapped his hands when Professor Dumbledore set down the raggedy hat.

“Think Dippet has lost his mind?” Verdell asked, leaning over the table to talk to Winnifred. 

“He most certainly has,” Winnifred replied, ignoring Olive’s increasingly agitated state, “Witches and wizards are disappearing and ending up killed because of Grindelwald, and Dippet ensures the safety of the school, when we all saw what happened last term. Mum didn’t fancy me coming back, but I won that argument” Winnifred said, leaning back on her chair with her arms folded. 

Verdell shrugged his shoulders and turned to face the sorting ceremony which was already underway. The Slytherins watched as the nervous looking first years were sorted into their houses. 

Tom was watching the sorting ceremony very carefully. He acted as if it did not interest him but this was one of the most important parts of the school year in his eyes. It truly showed who was worthy of respect within the castle, and more importantly in the wizarding world as a whole. Who was going to care if you were a Hufflepuff when your competitor says that they are a Slytherin? The most prestigious house within these walls, in Tom’s mind. 

Finally the last new first year, with the name Zabini was the fourteenth member to join Slytherin. 

Professor Dippet stood up once again. “Before the feast begins, I would like to welcome a new student to the school!” There were mummers all around the hall, it was rare to see a new student welcomed into Hogwarts, or any other wizarding school for that matter. The fifth year Slytherins, besides Winnifred and Tom, looked around at one another, intrigued as well. 

Dippet continued, “She is a fifth year transfer from Beauxbatons,” he smiled, “She is coming to us here at Hogwarts due to the ongoing Muggle war as well as the slight threat of members of the wizarding community. Join me in welcoming Cressida Leferve!”

“Ready?” Dumbeldore asked the girl who seemed oddly calm.

“Yes,” she responded, “I don’t think that it can be any worse than the ceremonies at Beauxbatons.”

Dumbeldore’s mouth formed a small ‘o’ as the Great Hall doors swung open for the second time that night. Cressida made her way between the houses labeled with red and yellow colors. She immediately recognized them as her parents’ respective houses. She was already hoping she was not going to be in either one, Ravenclaw sounded the most appealing to her. 

Cressida felt the hundreds of eyes on her as she sat down on the stool, her eyes caught a boy with jet balck hair in green robes. He held her gaze for a brief second before focusing on a girl with deep brown skin and short brown hair. Suddenly a weight was placed on Cressida’s head.

“Ah, Miss Lefevre,” a voice said. “I was wondering if we were going to meet. I remember both your parents quite well. A strong and brilliant Gryffindor was your mother and a loyal and caring Hufflepuff was your father. The question is where do you fall?”

“Likely neither one of those,” she answered. “I don’t think I fit either one of those profiles very well, especially the caring qualities both possess.”

“Miss Lefevre,” the hat crooned, “You care too deeply, so much so, that you suffocate those feelings into a tiny bubble and hope that they disappear. Until one day they burst, crawling up your throat. An explosion of anger and rage that not even the control you have will be able to stop.”

Cressida felt the back of her neck tingle and began to chew on her nail. “Well where would you have me go,” there was an audible fear in her voice. Was she truly that easy to read?

“Hmmm,” the hat stalled, “Bravery runs through your veins, you are quite daring in advancing your knowledge. But then there is the undeniable intelligence and wit you possess, a fool would deny you may sit well in Ravenclaw. Your hard work is admirable but you seem to lack loyalty from time to time, perhaps Hufflepuff is not the best spot for you.” 

Cressida froze, how was it possible that a hat could know her secret. No, it was Cressida’s paranoia coming through again. She knew she was overreacting. 

“With that cunningness to get where you want to go. Ambition to become the--is that right--the Minister of Magic?” the hat chuckled. “Well with that in mind there can be no doubt, better be SLYTHERIN!”

The hat was removed from Cressida’s head, she watched it go limp as it was set on the table. It was a strange piece of magic. 

She looked up to meet a familiar pair of black eyes at the staff table, Faye. Her aunt winked at her and beamed, Cressida was somewhat disappointed as she wished to become a Ravenclaw like her aunt. She stood up from the small stool and only then did she realize there was a smattering of applause coming from all around the Great Hall. Cressida, with as much confidence as she could muster, strode towards the Slytherin table. The same dark skinned girl she noticed earlier, was standing up, beckoning for her to come over.

The girl gave her a warm smile and offered her hand, “My name is Winnifred Selwyn, it is so nice to have another Slytherin in our year.” Cressida immediately felt comfortable around this girl.

“I am Olive Hornbry,” the curly haired blonde broke in. “A pleasure to meet a Lefevre.”

Cressida’s slight happiness dropped, she sighed, “You know of my family?”

“Just the fact that you are one of the most influential French families out there. My family has been trying to contact yours for years I believe--.”

“Olive for Merlin’s sake, the girl has just met you,” Winnfred groaned as she sat down, Cressida followed suit, now squished in between the two girls.

Cressida was used to these comments, but that did not mean they were not tiring. She forced a smile at the girl, “Sorry Olive, I am afraid you confuse my grandparents for my parents. We are a very private family, especially after their passing.” 

“No, actually--”

“Olive that is enough,” Abraxas snapped. He turned to face Cressida with a slight blush on his cheeks. “I am Abraxas Malfoy, it is so nice to meet you Miss Lefevre.”

Cressida had to hold in her laugh she was not used to all of these formalities back at Beauxbatons the girls never used the phrase ‘miss’ to address another student. “Please, do not call me ‘miss,’ Abraxas. It reminds me too much of my mother. Cressida will be perfectly fine.” 

Abraxas smiled as the others just continued to stare at Cressida, the other blonde boy groaned. “Are you really all just going to keep staring at her instead of introducing yourself.” Cressida again had to keep herself from laughing, so instead she turned to see Faye, who as well, looked as if she was about to burst from amusement at her situation.

The boy interrupted her thoughts, “I am Verdell Rowle, it is a pleasure to meet you Cressida. This is Felix Muliciber,” the friendly looking brown skinned boy smiled at her. “This is Rheneas Lestrange,” the one dark haired boy across from her just gave a simple nod. “And this--”

“I will do the introductions myself, thank you Verdell,” the black haired boy said smoothly, sitting up a bit taller. “Tom Riddle, a pleasure to be your aquantiant,” he said, offering Cressida a slight bow and his hand to shake.

She took it as her stomach dropped a bit. She could feel the back of her neck grow hot at the cool touch of his skin. She looked down to see a beautiful gold ring kissing a stone as black as the night. Cressida’s eyes lingered on the stone for a second more than they should have. 

“That ring is beautiful,” Cressida said, dropping his hand.

“Thank you Miss Lefevre, it has been in my family for generations.”

“Cressida,” she corrected, as the long table suddenly became filled with all sorts of foods, initiating the feast. 

“So you were at Beauxbatons?” Verdell asked her, reaching for a chicken leg. 

“Yes, my family thought it would be best for me to transfer here with the ongoing battles in both the Muggle world and within our own.”

“You don’t sound French?” Rheneas questioned, his mouth already full of potatoes.

“Well, I was not necessarily raised to fit the French standards, nor was my father,” she paused as the eyes of the fifth years were all glued on her, well except for Tom but she could tell he was listening. “Both my parents came to school here at Hogwarts as well. My father never particularly followed my grandparents’ rules, and that included him forcing himself to learn a different accent when he arrived here as well. 

My mother was a Lourdes in school,” Cressida paused as she reached for a biscuit in the center of the table, “So neither one really wanted to raise their daughter with French standards. True French standards are increasingly hard to come by and most families are progressing past the need for them,” Cressida thought of the Delacours and the fight they had with the Kama family and Christmas three yeas ago. “Although our manor in Nice is much more beautiful and peaceful than the manor we have at Oxford. My parents and I tend to spend most days at the Oxford manor,” Cessida finished with a smile. 

“What were your parents’ houses when they were here,” Abraxas asked. 

“Well my mother is a Gryffindor and Dad is a Hufflepuff. You probably know my mother’s name as well, at least if you keep up with quidditch. Elora Lourdes?”

“Your kidding!” Verdell yelled, immediately cursing himself for reacting so loudly. 

Cressida laughed, “Yes, before she married Dad she was the keeper for Puddlemere United. Again, this is why I don’t have a French accent, Rheneas. My grandparents heavily disapproved of Dad marrying a quidditch player. But, they were too in love to stop it.”

“I can’t believe I am sitting across from Elora Lourdes’s daughter right now!” Verdell muttered. “Possibly the best Keeper in recent history.” 

“Don’t let her hear you say that, might put her pride over the edge,” Cressida mumbled.

The conversation turned after more discussion on her mother, and surprisingly Cressida realized she had a lot in common with the other Slytherins. She was feeling genuinely accepted, but she was also worried that it was all an act. Her mother told her stories of some conniving Slytherins, she was worried that is who these people truly were.

She worried that is what she was too.

Slowly the Great Hall emptied out as Winnifred stood up, “Since Dumbeldore already showed you around the castle, Tom is just going to show you to the common room while I take care of the first years.”

Cressida nodded as Winnifred called for all the new Slytherins to follow her. Cressida watched them all leave as she wondered how different her life would have been if she originally came to Hogwarts instead of Beauxbatons. 

“See you back in the common room,” Abraxas said to Cressida. 

She smiled back as she watched the other boys follow out. Cressida did not notice, but the black haired boy did as he strode up next to Cressida, the way Verdell’s eyes lingered on Cressida, the slight blush to his cheeks. Tom could not understand any emotional feeling towards another, let alone a basic looking girl he met a mere two hours prior. 

“Dumbledore already showed you parts of the castle?” Tom asked Cressida as they stood at the end of the Slytherin table. 

“Yes, it is very different from Beauxbatons, not saying that it is not beautiful, it is just so different.”

Tom forced a slight smile at the girl. He agreed Hogwarts was beautiful, it was in fact his home. That orphanage was most definitely not. The pain of that place, the suffering, it all meant he was glad to be back for another productive year at the school.

“Where are you from?” Cressida asked. “We really didn’t get to talk much, your friends were so intrigued at the fact I am Elora Lourdes’s daughter, I hardly got to learn anything from you.”

“London,” Tom replied simply. It was much better to keep the answer vague but fulfilling, eventually the girl would figure out about the orphanage, for now he wanted to keep her in the dark. If her family had that much influence in France, he did not want to risk any disapproval from them.

“Any siblings?” she asked. 

“No, it is just myself.”

“So am I.”

Tom was taken back. “I thought French families tended to have larger families?” 

Cressida shook her head and laughed, “Not really all that French, remember. But no, my parents only have one.”

Tom noticed, however subtly she tried to play it off, her smile faltering. He was curious as to why. She could not have been as possibly lonely as he was growing up. He imagined that the French purebloods attended just as many galas as he had seen the Lestranges and Malfoys throw. He could only imagine them being even more extravagant. 

Tom stopped in front of the door to the Slytherin common room, “The password is something to do with the pillars of Salazar Slytherin’s beliefs, for the next week or so it is going to be ‘pureblood.’ Usually they change every Thursday, but that is up to the prefects.”

Cressida felt a chill run down her spine and wrinkled her nose in disgust not worried about Tom’s reaction. This is why she would have rather assumed a spot within the Ravenclaw house. Her parents mentioned the beliefs of Salazar, beliefs that pulled her immediate family away from the rest of the Lefevres. At Beauxbatons, the headmistress was unbelievably welcoming of all magical blood, a major factor in why she attended that school from the start. Hogwarts was welcoming, but there were many that still were for the eradication of all blood that was not pure.

She wondered if she just ate dinner and laughed with those types of people. 

Tom raised his eyebrows at her expression. “Why the face Miss Lefevre?”

She glared at him, “It is Cressida. And blood fanatics are too much for my taste. I do hope you are not too much of one.” She waited for Tom’s reaction, but he just turned to open up the door to the common room. 

Inside was beautiful. There was an obvious theme of a dark emerald green and silver look. The walls were littered with old books and silver artifacts. There were a few older students lounging on the couches in front of the great fireplace that was roaring to life. 

“The girls dormitories are to the right, the boys to the left. The rooms increase by year, so you will be suited with Miss Hornby and Selwyn. Your trunks should be up there now, as should the other girls, but if you need anything, do not be afraid to ask.”

“Thanks, Tom,” she said bowing her head and making her way to the dormitories. She was already exhausted and had only been at the school for one day. She nodded her head towards the older students on the couch, one of which smirked earnestly at her. She saw Olive sitting at a desk in the back of the room and quickly made her way towards the dormitories. 

She got to the fifth door and sighed before walking in. Three people were inside. 

“Cressida, hi!” Winnifred exclaimed, sitting up from one of three beds. Abraxas smiled at her as well. Verdell looked slightly at the ground but still smiled. 

“Tom got done showing you around then?” Abraxas asked. 

“Yes, I am not sure what I was thinking this room would look like but it was not like this,” Cressida mused looking at the intricately painted ceiling depicting a battle of both muggles and wizards alike. 

“It is always a bit weird to see how the rooms change from year to year,” Winnifred said. “Oh, and there is your bed to the very left.” 

Cressida walked over to her bed and opened the trunk, surprised to see green ties and uniforms that earlier were grey. She could hear the other three talking amongst themselves as she dug further and further in her trunk looking for something. Finally her hands found the dark brown leather journal she was searching for. 

“Cressida Anastasia Lefevre,” Winnifred read the engraved front of the journal, “Anastasia is a really pretty middle name.”

Cressida smiled, she saw the two boys getting up to leave, “See you tomorrow Cressida!” Abraxas called, waving goodbye as he walked out of the girls’ dorm. Verdell smiled and followed suit.

When the door closed, Cressida turned back to face Winnifred, “Thank you for being so polite to me today. I guess I didn't know what to expect from everyone here. But I am grateful for you, Winnifred.”

“Ugh, don’t get all sappy on me,” Winnifred said, pushing herself off the bed. “I hope you don’t plan to act all pretentious, because I can tell that is not who you are. Also, I don’t like the whole name ‘Winnifred,’ I prefer nicknames, but the boys are boring and just call me ‘Win.’” 

Cressida smirked, she was glad that at least one person could see the real her in a way. She always knew she had to impress and win over trust before she could reveal her true self. “How about Freddie?” Cressida asked.

“Perfect. And I am calling you Cissy, because I know the boys are only going to call you ‘Cress.’” Winnifred turned to look at Cressida, laughter playing on her lips. She held out her for Cressida to shake, “I really am not a big fan of Olive, so I am going to let you know now that we are destined to be good friends, specifically because I read people very well and can tell that you are not the type to take any shit from anyone.”

Cressida laughed and stood up and offered her hand which Winnifred decided to ignore and wrapped her in a hug.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so now that you read (if anyone actually ever does) the first official chapter, please let me know what you all think! Or just let me know in general how you are. Ok, love you all lots:)


	3. Medieval Nights

Cressida was lying in a field. The sky above looked too perfect. The blue was too blue, there was not even a wisp of a cloud in sight. The sun was too round and yellow, it felt like a painting. The air around her was still. The air had no smell to it, she seemed to be just existing in this never ending field. There were wildflowers surrounding her in the field, she went to touch when it disintegrated from her touch. The purple color of the flower vanished first, then the petals, stem, and she could feel the roots beneath her disappear as well. 

Cressida heard footsteps approaching from the left of her. She could feel the footsteps in her core, they were so light. They sounded off, as if the ground was echoing all around her. She pushed herself off of the ground into a sitting position hoping to see who or whatever was walking around her. 

“Take my hand,” a soft, yet masculine voice whispered, and a pale, bony hand was offered out to her. Cressida could not see a body nor the face that the hand was attached to. It seemed to have manifested into thin air. She did not hesitate, she took the hand hoping to find answers to what this place was. 

When she stood up she brushed herself off expecting to see the person who’s voice she had heard a minute before. Instead she saw an endless green field with wildflowers dancing wildly in a nonexistent wind. She spun around in a circle, feeling her throat start to swell up. Cressida knew she needed to find the _thing_ that helped her up if she ever wanted to escape this serene hell. 

She was still spinning in circles when she saw a tall and lanky figure fifty yards in front of her. She could only make out the figure’s backside. The figure seemed to take a human form, but it was just an endless pitch of darkness on the inside of the shape. The edges around the figure seemed to glow and blur into the wildflowers near it. 

“Hey!” she called, the person continued to walk away, or maybe Cressida was getting pushed back. “Wait!” The figure paused and turned to face her. She could just make out their curly head and lanky build. This figure _must_ be another person.

“Not yet Cressida,” the same voice that she heard earlier was all around her, but the figure was in the same spot. “Not yet.”

Cressida opened her mouth to ask a question when the world seemed to swallow itself whole. The ground was shaking and it felt as if Cressida was disappearing into the sea of wildflowers. 

Suddenly Cressida was flung back to her reality. She sat straight up in her bed, Olive’s soft snores were the only sounds in the room.

She wiped the beads of sweat from her forehead and rolled over to her nightstand and grabbed her wand and an empty glass. She muttered aguamenti, and gulped down the water, trying to sort out the dream. 

It felt so real and so familiar. That person, or whatever it was, seemed like home. For as long as Cressida could remember she has not had a dream that felt so real. She made a mental note to talk to Faye about it during her divination class in two days. She knew that in her world, a dream was rarely just a dream. Who better to talk to about a dream than the world’s foremost seer?

She knew she would not be going to sleep again for a while. Cressida grabbed her wand, journal, and quill. She quietly rolled out of her bed and left the dorm to go sit in front of the fire in the common room and write until she became tired again.

Cressida had been at Hogwarts week and a half now and she was glad to say she felt very much at home. She spent most of her time with Winnifred and Abraxas. She had not had much interaction with the members of the other houses, but all of the Slytherins that she met on her first night were very welcoming to her.

Except for maybe Tom. Cressida had gathered that he was not much of a people person. That was understandable as Cressida would much rather prefer to fly alone on her broom or write alone beside the fire, like she was headed to do now. But she could not help but be intrigued with the quiet, demanding boy. 

She reached the bottom of the stairwell and saw one lone figure hunched over some papers near the fire. She groaned inwardly. She did not expect to have company at 2:30 in the morning.

The person turned their head towards Cressida, and to further her dismay, that person seemed to be none other than Tom Riddle. Too late to sneak back to her dormitory and attempt to fall back asleep now.

She took a deep breath and walked over and sat on the chair adjacent to Tom. “I wasn’t expecting anyone to be down here at this time,” she remarked, trying to see what Tom was studying.

“Nor was I expecting to be interrupted at this hour,” Tom replied, coolly, sweeping most of the loose papers up into a pile.

“What are you working on?” Cressida asked, figuring it was useless to try and write anything decent if Tom was going to continue to stay in the common room. She caught a glimpse of _Hogwarts: A History_ in Tom’s attempt to put all of his items away.

“Just some light studying.”

“And light would happen to be a book that most children read before they even come to school?”

Tom glared at her for only a moment before softening his gaze only slightly. “I have been at this school for four years and have yet to discover every spot in it. It has been one of my goals to attempt to find most of the hidden chambers and passageways throughout the castle.”

Cressida was intrigued by his thought process. “You really think that one of the most famous books is just going to start spitting out the secrets of the school? Wouldn’t it be more prudent to use, say, the Restricted Section in the library? Someone with secrets to the castle would likely have a book in there, rather than in one that millions have read.”

“I have learned that the most answers are usually just right in front of us. Perhaps we all read this book too quickly and out of enjoyment or in your case, forced by families, and never truly saw the hidden secrets.” 

Cressida had to repress herself from smirking out of amusement at what Tom was saying. She did not agree with Tom, it would be quite obvious if that book, even in between the lines said, ‘here is where to find the deepest secrets in Hogwarts. Oh, you want the Chamber of Secrets, it is just behind that wall.’

“What were you coming down here to do anyways?” Tom asked politely, yet his voice was tinted with coldness. 

“I couldn’t sleep,” Cressida replied, staring into the dying fire. “Figured I may as well come here and write a little bit.”

Tom’s face was illuminated by the flickering firelight. He gave her a tight smile. He never seemed to want to indulge in anyone’s own personal life unless he really had to. “What is it you write.”

Cressida gave him a funny look, but it was so brief he barely had time to register anything besides a sad smile. “I usually just write some poetry. It is nothing really. I prefer to get lost in my own thoughts, and a few years ago I decided I may as well start putting what was in my mind down on paper.”

Tom did not say anything for a while. Cressida could tell he wanted to see what she had written, but only one person had ever seen what she wrote. That person would not be replaced by Tom. 

“Do you write anything?” she finally asked, breaking the silence between them.

Tom shook his head. “I prefer more logical writing. Not necessarily poetry or fictitious writing. I would rather read books about history than write about thoughts directly from the mind.”

“I’d imagine you’d do well as a professor then.”

Tom looked taken back, angry almost, but his face softened, “I have never actually shared what I wish to do with anyone, but yes, I would like to teach.”

“I think you’d make a good teacher,” Cressida kindly replied, suddenly growing increasingly drowsy, perhaps it was this dull conversation or staring into the dancing flames for too long. “I’ll leave you to your thoughts then.” She stood up and went to make her way back to the dormitories.

“Wait, Miss Lefevre,” Tom called.

Cressida stopped and turned around, “Cressida,” she corrected.

Tom waved it away, “What would you like to do after school?”

Cressida smiled, “I suppose to simply make change in the world.” She nodded and turned around before Tom could question her life goals and choices any further. It was too late, or perhaps too early to have Riddle rummaging around in her head. 

Both Winnifred and Olive were still asleep, unsurprisingly, when Cressida entered back into her dormitory. She quietly crawled back into her bed, digging herself deep under the emerald green covers. She thought of her conversation with Tom, and how infuriating, yet mystifying Tom was. She still was not sure what to think of him, compared to his friends, he was a very layered character indeed. Slowly she fell into a dreamless sleep.

Hours later, Cressida was hurrying to catch up to Verdell and Abraxas after their History of Magic class. She thoroughly enjoyed that class. She could not wait to reach the Dark Ages unit. Her father loved to talk about Merlin and what he had done for the wizarding world. It would be nice to share some of that insight with the other students. 

Verdell and Abraxas were obviously hurrying to the Great Hall either out of hunger or to avoid Cressida. Finally Cressida made it just up behind them, but it looked like they were deep in conversation. Cressida just caught the tail end of what they were saying to one another. 

“Honestly, Verdell, I have been your best friend for years, it is not hard to tell when you have feelings for someone.”

“Oh fuck off, Rax. I don’t have feelings for her. I only met her a week ago. Are you sure you aren’t the one that is falling for her,” Verdell snapped back, Cressida could just see his face growing bright red. 

“Oh, you are falling for her now,” Abraxas laughed. “I thought it was more of a sexual thing-”

“What’s more of a sexual thing,” Cressida asked, a hint of a smile on her face.

“Oh Merlin,” Verdell muttered, turning around to see Cressida walking up next to them. 

Abraxas was trying to keep himself together and failing miserably at it. Cressida shot him a funny look. “What is so amusing to you Abraxas?”

“Ask Verdell,” he laughed. 

Cressida turned to look at the nervous looking blonde boy. “Dell?”

Verdell wrinkled his nose, “Nothing,” he mumbled, before making a beeline away from the Great Hall and towards the Charms classroom.

Cressida turned back towards Abraxas, “Did I do something? Or is he always like that?”

Abraxas only shook his head while he tried to stifle his laughter at the boy. “Come on let’s go get some lunch to take to Verdell before we go to charms.”

The pair had their arms full of food as they made their way back out of the Great Hall, on a mission to find Verdell again. 

“Okay, but seriously Rax, why was Verdell acting like that?”

Abraxas paused and thought for a moment. “Have you ever been in a relationship before?”

Cressida smirked at the boy in front of her, already knowing where he was heading with it. “Does Verdell like me Rax?”

“Merlin Lefevre, you jumped there awfully fast. But yes, that is where I was heading with all of this.”

Cressida felt a laugh bubble from the bottom of her throat and had to cough it down before glancing back up at Abraxas. “Well, then. I’ve only known you lot for a week, I find it hard to believe that he thinks he likes me that fast.”

Abraxas raised his eyebrows and let out a loud laugh, “ _Think_! Oh, no, Cressida. I have known that boy for years, he most definitely likes you very much.”

Cressida rolled her eyes and took a bite out of her bacon sandwich, she was too hungry to wait for them to find Verdell so they could eat together. “That’s the thing with coming to a new school,” Cressida said, her mouth full. Abraxas eyes danced with amusement at her. “Everyone thinks that you are this great mystery until they realize you are just like everyone else. Verdell will find that out soon enough.”

Abraxas shook his head, his shaggy blonde hair falling over his eyes, “It isn’t the mystery of you that draws them in, Cress. It is just _you_.” 

Cressida smiled at him and patted his shoulder with her free hand, “I appreciate that Rax, but we will see how much that statement changes in a week or so.”

“Oh I don’t think it will change that much Cress,” Abraxas looked up and saw Verdell sulking at the end of the corridor, near the charms classroom. “I’ll go talk to him. I’ll see you in a little while then, okay? Go explore the castle some more, I doubt you have even seen the whole thing in a week.” Abraxas winked at Cressida before making his way towards Verdell. 

Cressida nodded at Abraxas and turned to the right down another corridor. She ate her bacon sandwich while admiring the castle grounds. She walked past a group of Gryffindor fifth and sixth years, who were all gawking at Cressida. She gave them a smile and a little wave and continued on her way.

She could hear the whispers begin as soon as she passed them. That had been happening a lot within the past week. Apparently everyone at Hogwarts wanted to guess and gossip over the only known Lefevre heir and her coming to Hogwarts. No one really knew that the Lefevre’s had any children. Like Cressida had told Olive on her first night at the castle, her parents were very closed off from the rest of the wizarding world after the death of Cressida’s grandparents.

Cressida tried not to think about what rumors people were starting about her as she wiped the grease from her sandwich on her robes and made her way into the library. She was certain that if her grandmother ever saw her use her clothing as a napkin she would be rolling over in her grave. She checked her diamond encrusted watch and saw that she had about fifteen minutes to get back to the charms corridor. She decided to pick up a book to read in her spare time while she was here. She did not like to write in front of others, she knew they would ask questions about what she was writing, so in the common room she preferred to simply read if she had the time. 

Cressida was walking along the shelves, searching for something that would catch her eye. She stopped in front of a silver covered book titled, _Witches of the Medieval Times_. The author was an unfamiliar name to Cressida, written under Jodie Pritchard. The cover intrigued her enough and she had to get to charms class quickly. She decided to check the book out, maybe get a head start on what Binns had hinted at they would be studying after the holidays. Madam Pince checked the book out for her, gave her a stern warning about what would happen if the book came back damaged, and Cressida hurried along her way.

She absentmindedly was flipping through the pages, seeing if she could recall any of these medieval witches. Back at Beauxbatons, they had just begun to study the Dark Ages at the end of the year, so she knew that she was already somewhat ahead of the other Hogwarts students. Of course, her father, Sebastian, had never obstructed from keeping any historical knowledge from his daughter either. 

She stopped on a page titled _Morgana le Fay_. She could just recall Morgana from last year’s lessons. She remembered that Morgana and Merlin were enemies during the Dark Ages, but she could not recollect what exactly happened to her. Although, Cressida did have a handful of Morgana’s chocolate frog cards, and if she was on a card, she could not be the bad of a witch, right?

She continued to skim over the paragraphs, not really retaining any information. She was walking along, and came to a dead stop when she saw a portrait of Morgana at the bottom of one of her pages. The portrait of Morgana was eerily similar to one of a different person back at the Lefevre manor in Oxford. Morgana’s blue eyes pierced into Cressida’s soul. 

Cressida immediately felt her throat go dry and her vision become foggy. She closed the book harshly and ran her hands through her hair. Her breathing became ragged and she had the sudden urge to run into the Forbidden Forest and never come back out. She just made out her location in the castle and hurried back towards the charms castle, trying to block thoughts from her head.

She quickly turned to the next corridor where Abraxas and Verdell were now joined by Winnifred and Tom. She felt her heart drop into her stomach, she did not fancy having a slight breakdown in front of these people.

“Cissie!” Winnifred called, quickly walking up to her. “Are you alright? You look like shit.”

“‘M fine. I don’t think that the bacon sandwich was the best,” Cressida muttered looking around. She was thinking about skipping class and heading back to the Slytherin chambers and sleeping for days and not having to come into contact with anyone for a while. 

Winnifred eyed her carefully before shrugging her shoulders. “Well let’s not keep Flitwick waiting any longer, if you really are okay. You are okay enough for one of Flitwick’s lessons right? He’s only been here for two years, but he is probably one of the toughest professors in this place.”

Cressida nodded, her mind slightly clearing. “Yes, I am fine. I don’t fancy missing one of his classes, I’ll just go back to the dormitory after class, maybe try to sleep for a bit.”

Winnifred smiled at her and beckoned for her to come meet up with the small group of boys. “I can’t wait to perform the color changing charm on Abraxas’s hair. I think he’d look good with blue hair,” Winnifred joked before marching into the classroom, shooting Abraxas a wink.

“Like hell you are!” Abraxas hollered after her. He rolled his eyes and walked into the classroom behind her, Verdell close behind.

Tom stood back and offered to let Cressida go in first, he refused to meet her eye, probably due to the conversation they had in the wee hours of the morning. He gave her a sharp nod before following in after her. 

“You are alright, Lefevre?” he asked when they finally got settled into the classroom. The Hufflepuffs were starting to file in as well, along with the remaining Slytherins. 

Cressida nodded to him and quickly turned away to grab her charms book from her bag, ending the slight discussion between them. Cressida would never say but she was sure that for the first time, but most definitely not the last time, she saw worry etched into Tom Riddle’s face.


	4. Love's First Sighting

September was coming to an end, and Cressida was starting to feel more at home at Hogwarts than she ever did at Beauxbatons. She was getting along great with the Slytherins and even managed to make friends with another fifth year from Hufflepuff, Thane McKinnon.

She was sure that her father would love Thane. Thane was an almost replica of her father, the true embodiment of a Hufflepuff. Her friends from Slytherin did not necessarily have an opinion on Thane, so she did not bring him up in front of them often.

Cressida had just finished lunch and was walking to the Divination classroom, chatting with Felix. Besides Felix and Cressida, Olive and Verdell were the only other Slytherins that took Divination. 

Cressida loved the subject and it was not as if she could stop taking it, as Faye was her professor. Cressida knew that Faye would disown her as a godchild if she ever dropped Divination. But Faye was also a powerful Seer, blessed with the gifts of the Sight, her claim to fame. It was different for someone with the gifts of Divination and a person who was trying their best to comprehend the subject. 

“Do you think Professor Orsic will take me making up Abraxas death for my dream journal?” Felix asked Cressida as they made their way to the ladder that led to the Divination room. 

Cressida laughed. “Maybe. I think she might grow a little concerned with mine predicting Rheneas’s death. We can’t just be killing off all of the fifth year Slytherins because we can’t remember most of our dreams.”

“Kill off one of the Hufflepuffs then,” Felix joked, and grabbed the first rung of the ladder, hoisting himself up into the classroom. 

Cressida would never grow tired of the Divination room. Faye was adamant that the room be more of a home than a classroom. So, the room was almost a spitting image of her small manor. If Cressida ever longed for her home, she would just go sit with Faye and have a cup of tea, and it was like they were back in Birmingham.

Cressida saw Faye smiling at her and Felix as they entered the classroom. Back on one of their first discussions after Cressida arrived at Hogwarts, Faye gushed about how ‘Mr. Mulciber is one of the only interested students in my class. All the others are bloody awful, they can’t even read a tea leaf, let alone give a damn about the true power of the Sight.’ 

Felix and Cressida sat around one of the small tables and looked into the small blue bowl in front of them. It contained unwritten strips of paper. 

Olive and Verdell came into the classroom a few minutes later, Verdell looking somewhat sad that once again Felix had sat with Cressida instead of him. After that interaction with Verdell and Abraxas in the corridor, Verdell had only been terribly polite to Cressida. 

She would have much rather preferred that Verdell be more of a prat to her than whatever play he was performing. 

“Hi Cressida,” Verdell said as he sat down next to Olive at the table in front of Felix and Cressida. 

“Hello, Dell,” Cressida replied with a genuine smile. She liked Verdell, and did not want him to feel uncomfortable around her. She was trying her best to show him she did not care about his feelings towards her. She understood now that Abraxas was right. Verdell truly liked Cressida. It was annoying yet gratifying, not that she would ever do anything with it. 

“Good afternoon everyone,” Faye began, sweeping her long black hair behind her shoulders. Everyone immediately paid attention to her. Despite their beliefs on Divination, one could not deny the raw power that Faye held. “Today we are going to be continuing our study of dreams. We will begin to cover the study of psychic dreams.”

She looked around the room, meeting Cressida’s eyes, a brief shadow fell across Faye’s face before she turned it into a brisk smile and continued to look around the room. “Many of you have likely had dreams where something in it came true. That is both our subconscious and for some, gifts of the Sight working together.”

A Ravenclaw Cressida did not know raised their hand. “If we are able to tap into the future through dreams does that mean we automatically have the Sight?” they asked eagerly. 

Faye gave them a sad smile, “No Myrtle, that does not automatically mean you have the Sight. The Sight is a very tricky element. Almost all witches and wizards are blessed with a slight amount of the power the Sight holds, very few, actually have the true power of the Sight. I am one of the blessed few.”

Cressida inwardly rolled her eyes at that statement, she had heard Faye complain to her parents on more than a few occasions about the burdens of the Sight. She even heard her say once if there was a way for her to give it back, she would. Cressida guessed that with that incredible power, burden was part of the job.

Faye seemed to be thinking along the same lines of Cressida, as her eyes had glossed over as if she was deep in thought. Faye shook her head slightly and cleared her throat. “For today’s lesson, I would like you all to first write random phrases or words on the slips of paper in front of you, and have your partner guess them, to follow up on the reading that you all were supposed to complete for today. I will be around to see how much you took from the last week of lessons."

After a few minutes of scribbling down a few phrases, Felix was trying to guess what Cressida had written down and was so far failing miserably at it.

“Is it ‘Felix is the most handsome person in the room?’” he asked with a foolish grin on his face.

The card read ‘chocolate frogs and hot toddies.’ “Nope, the pieces of paper six, Felix zero. Come on you have to get at least close to one!”

“I’m hopeless!” Felix playfully wailed, to which Verdell rolled his eyes at from below. “Okay, Cress, why don’t you try to see what I have written down.”

“Fine,” Cressida flipped her hair behind her shoulders and concentrated on the piece of paper Felix was holding in his hand. _Nothing_. “Ugh, this is hope-” suddenly the phrase ‘Verdell is an annoying prat’ popped into her head.

Cressida’s eyebrows furrowed, it must have just been some wild thought to make up for the fact she had no idea what was going on. And the fact that Verdell could be a prat. Nonetheless she decided to say it aloud. “Verdell is an annoying prat. Sorry Verdell.”

Felix’s mouth was agape. “How in the bloody hell did you do that?” 

Verdell was protesting from below them. 

“Wait, that was _right_?” 

“Yes it was bloody right, maybe it was just a fluke, try another one?” Felix asked, although he looked a bit skeptical.

Cressida nodded and focused again on the new slip Felix held in his hands. The same voice came back to her once more, “I really hate how loud Verdell breathes.”

“HEY!”

“Bloody hell, Lefevre! Are you a seer?” Felix almost shouted, giddy with excitement.

Cressida had no idea where that voice had come from. She had practiced many of these same exercises with Faye when she was younger and had never once received any type of response like this. She knew her eyes were wide and that she must be looking awfully stupid. 

“Do it again Cressida,” Faye’s voice brought her back to her senses. She was standing next to their table, looking fearful, shocked, and proud.

Felix held another piece of paper and almost immediately Cressida knew what it said. “Speaking of Verdell he should just get around and ask Cress out already.”

“I swear on Salazar Slytherin Mulciber I will-”

“Mr. Rowle, that is enough,” Faye said sternly, by this time the whole classroom was looking at Cressida in awe. _Great, now everyone is going to think I’m a bloody Seer. They’ll want me to tell them all who they are going to marry_. 

“Cressida,” Faye said quietly. “What does this say?” Faye had written out a phrase on the piece of paper and it felt to Cressida as if she was shielding it with magic from her. But Cressida’s powers seemed to be greater than Faye’s.

“The first bet I ever one was against your father, based on the color of your eyes.” 

Faye looked at her awestruck, as did every other student in the classroom. Cressida sighed, she supposed she would have rather stayed at home and had a more quiet year than this.

  


“Tell me again about the dream.” Faye said. They were sitting in Faye’s office sipping tea. Divination had ended over an hour ago, but Faye was awestruck and needed to learn all she could about Cressida’s newfound powers.

Cressida sighed and recited the dream. The wildflower field, the voice all around her, the footsteps, the hand that manifested out of thin air, and the lanky familiar figure of someone she knew she had known. Or was destined to meet.

“Your dream is not uncommon, well the presence of it is not,” Faye said, stirring in a lump of sugar to her tea. “In most cases dreams do have an underlying meaning, even for muggles. But this dream seemed to be full of power.”

“Do you think that the dream gave me the Sight?” Cressida asked, her stomach was tied up in knots, it had been since she first felt sure of what Felix’s slip had said. “I mean, Faye, you and I have done exercises like that loads of times. I never knew what they said until today.”

“A dream can not give you a power Cressida. And if you have the Sight, you were born with the Sight, it is not something that just appears by magic,” Faye chuckled at the last part. She had been born into a muggle family. “But Cressida, I need you to keep track of every dream that you have. I need to be able to interpret them. If what you have is the Sight, we need to learn to harness this power and use it for the greater good, do you understand?”

Cressida nodded to her godmother and gulped down the last bit of tea, set down her saucer and stood up. “I promise I will Faye. I really just want to go get some air now, if you are done with this, for now. This is a little bit more than overwhelming. Could you do me a favor and tell Professor Binns and Slughorn I won’t be able to attend class this evening.” She could feel herself desperate to get outside.

Faye nodded, her deep brown eyes began to glow almost a gold hue. “Yes, go on dear, I will talk to you in a little while, alright?”

Cressida quickly scaled down the ladder and made her way down a hidden passage. She realized she had been walking without knowing where she was headed, finally registering she was somehow outside in front of the castle entrance. She sighed and shook her head, she really needed to go back to her dormitory and lie down for a while, this was all too much. 

She scanned the shoreline of the Black Lake, it seemed empty of any students so she made her way to a spot and sat down. The air was still slightly warm for the end of September, so she took her shoes and socks off and dipped her bare feet into the water. 

She lazily lolled her head back and basked in the sun for a little while. No thoughts of dreams, the Sight, Faye, Verdell, that bloody portrait of Morgana, or even Tom. She did not know how long she had been sitting there when she heard heavy footsteps approaching her from the left. She looked up to see a giant boy walking towards her, he seemed to be carrying a small creature in the crook of his arm.

“‘Ello there!” the boy called out to Cressida, she lazily raised her hand in response. The boy continued to lumber towards her, his name suddenly registered with her, Hagrid. She remembered Tom and Rheneas discussing the hulking boy a few weeks ago.

“Hagrid, right?” Cressida asked as the by sat down next to her with a thud. He nodded his head eagerly. “I’m Cressida-”

“Lefevre, yeah. Yeah, we know all about yeh. Yeh basically French royalty, ain’t yeh?”

Cressida laughed. “No, I am not French royalty. Never fancied losing my head over some cake.”

Hagrid gave her a funny look and shook his head in incomprehension. Ah, muggle history was not for everyone. Cressida caught a glimpse of the creature in Hagrid’s arms and immediately realized what it was. “Is that a porlock?”

“Yeah,” Hagrid chuckled. “The ‘fessor asked me to take care of it for the third years. Said they rarely take a likin’ to someone as big as meh. I’d say yeh could pet her, but she’s probably run off into the Forbidden Forest or somethin’.”

“Oh, that’s okay. I think it is just as wonderful to observe them from afar than to actually get up close and touch them,” Cressida smiled at the boy, “You’re year four right? What are you learning in Care of Magical Creatures now?”

Hagrid beamed and began talking about the XXX creature unit they just started. The two talked for close to an hour about which creatures they found the most fascinating. It turned out there was not a creature Hagrid did not want to meet. Cressida thought that she could probably go without ever meeting an acromantula, but Hagrid seemed all the merrier to want to own one.

“Merlin Hagrid, is there a creature that you would not want as a pet?” Cressida asked, watching Beatrice, the porlock, frolicking near the edge of the shoreline, not straying too far from Hagrid.

“I don’t think I would want a, er, Norwegian Ridgeback. They seem like fickle lil’ creatures. Nah,” he said, scratching his beard, (a fourteen year old with a full bear? Blimey!), “ I think I would actually like one.”

“If I ever had a dragon,” Cressida drawled, still watching the porlock, “I think that I would name it Norbert.”

“I like that name!” Hagrid exclaimed loudly, making both Beatrice and Cressida jump. “Oh Merlin, I scared her. C’mere! I’m sorry!” Hagrid looked at Cressida, “Sorry, I scared yeh, I think I better take Beatrice ‘ere, back to ‘fessor’s house.”

Cressida nodded, deciding she probably should go face whatever was waiting for her from everybody, she had no doubt by now the news of her reading Felix's slips of paper had spread like wildfire throughout the school. 

“It was nice talking to you Hagrid.” 

“Yeah, yeh too!” He gave her a little wave before wrapping Beatrice up in a blanket and walking back towards Professor Followays hut.

Cressida gathered herself back up. She stared at the vast lake in front of her. If she did not have all of this pressure, all of these hopes and dreams she would just swim and swim. Maybe meet a few merepeople along the way. But here she was, the great mystery girl of Hogwarts, she was irritated at it. She came to this school to avoid recognition, but it was all she got. 

She decided to bite the bullet and take whatever questions were sure to bombard her, and headed towards the Slytherin common room. She did not fancy any dinner right now, hopefully most of the house would already be in the Great Hall. She had missed her afternoon lessons and knew she needed to get caught up and write formal apologies to the professors whose classes she missed. 

Luckily no one seemed to be in the coolly rich common room. She settled herself into a corner desk and began her work on Ancient Runes. She had grabbed Winnifred’s notes from off of her bed, she was sure that Freddie would not mind. Cressida and Winnifred constantly swapped notes with one another, this time was no different, and Cressida was not afraid to explain everything that happened in Divination to Winnifred, everyone else, well… 

She just finished up six inches worth of parchment on Ancient Runes when someone entered the common room. She hoped that it would be a scared little first year, but of course, Cressida never could have good luck. Tom quickly caught sight of Cressida and made a bee-line for her. 

“Mulcibier and Miss Hornbry were going on and on at dinner about how you truly seem to be the whole package, Miss Lefevre.” 

Cressida audibly sighed at the use of the term ‘Miss,’ she was sure that Tom did it just out of spite, not because he was a gentleman. “Sorry Tom, would you like me to hand over the Sight to you so you can truly have it all here at Hogwarts.”

Tom let out a humorless laugh, “No. Because I do not truly believe that you have the Sight. You see, two years ago I was helping Professor Orsic out, when I was still taking Divination. And in her office I saw a picture of a young girl. I’m sure you know who that girl is.”

“If you are referring to me, Tom, I am not surprised as Faye is in fact my godmother. But if you really think that Faye would try to undermine an entire school for my own sake, obviously you did not pay attention to any of her lessons.” Cressida was growing increasingly angry, she could feel the tension tighten around her chest. 

Tom seemed pleased nonetheless, “But you don’t find it a bit odd that the only student to ever have this so-called Sight is Professor Orsic’s own godchild, and she discovers it the second she moves to a new school?” Tom’s eyes were snakelike, searching for Cressida’s weakest points, she was tired and did not want to deal with him anymore.

“What is your deal Riddle? Are you mad because I am simply smarter than you when it comes to magical ability. We have not gotten to dueling yet, but I, without a doubt, could kick your arse that your great-grandchild could feel it.”

“Oh, I am sure that you could handle yourself wonderfully, Lefevre.” He was smirking an unnecessarily attractive smirk, “I just know that the angrier people tend to become at an accusation that it is more likely true.”

Cressida could feel her throat grow tight with anger. Tom had no right to come in here and accuse her own godmother of deceiving an entire population. If Cressida truly was a Seer there were multiple trials she would have to go through. Did Tom honestly think that she wanted that?

“Mr. Riddle,” Cressida began, pushing her runes homework out of the way and folding her hands the way her mother had always done before she was going to say something serious. “I appreciate your concern for honesty, it truly is a great attribute to have. But to come in here and try to undermine me, especially after only knowing me for a month, is very dense of you. And then to try and accuse an esteemed Hogwarts staff member, not to mention an extremely powerful Seer is beyond low.” 

Cressida wrinkled her nose, Tom was not giving her a reaction, but she could feel the guilt, anger, and embarrassment radiating off of him. 

Cressida cleared her throat before continuing, “If you try to undermine me or my family ever again Mr. Riddle, I will be sure that Headmaster Dippet is aware of your actions and I can assure you that the gleaming silver pin on your chest will disappear before you can even say ‘Merlin. Or even better, your ride at this school will be right out of the door.”

Cressida gathered her books, refusing to meet Tom in the eyes. She was beyond furious at this pretentious little boy. “Good day to you, sir,” Cressida snapped, finally meeting Tom’s eyes. She saw the hint of a smile printed into his face. She scoffed and slung her bag over her shoulder and stalked out of the common room.

She’d much rather have to face the other fifth years at dinner than spend another minute with Tom. She felt her eyes begin to water and inwardly cursed the boy. Now he had the audacity to make her cry out of anger! She wanted nothing more than to smack him upside the head. Who was he to try and belittle and undermine her? And Faye as well! It was ridiculous, she needed a good firewhiskey. 

She realized that she walked right past the Great Hall as the smell of chicken was getting further away from her. She groaned out loud, the little things seemed to be setting her off a lot more than usual today. 

“Bloody hell,” she huffed, turning around bumping into someone. Her shoulder bag fell off, the contents spilling out into the corridor.

“Oh, Cressida! I’m sorry,” Verdell cried, rushing to perform a charm that put everything back into their correct places. “I’m sorry.”

“‘S fine,” Cressida mumbled, snatching the bag back up. She looked at Verdell, suddenly feeling very vulnerable. 

“Err. I saw you weren’t at dinner tonight. So I told Winnifred to bring you back some. But I saw you running by the Great Hall. Thought you may be hungry.” He was awkwardly standing in front of her holding out a plate of lemon chicken and roasted vegetables.

Cressida felt her shoulders lighten with a sense of relief. “Yeah. Yeah,” she smiled. “Thank you.” She took the plate from him. He still awkwardly stood there, he was wringing his hands behind his back. 

“Do you want to, come, um sit and eat with me? I’d say you had a rather stressful day considering divination class and all. You could probably use a friend. 

Cressida smiled and nodded. “Yes, thank you, Verdell. Honestly, thank you.” 

The boy’s pale cheeks turned a deep red, Cressida had to look down out of embarrassment for the poor boy. Verdell, seemed suddenly interested in walking in front of her to get to a small alcove in the next corridor. They had just about rounded the corner when a voice called them back. 

“Oi! Rowle! Cress!” Abraxas was jogging up to the pair. “Hey!” He beamed at Cressida. He turned to Verdell. “You tell her the deal you came up with yet Rowle?” He asked eagerly.

“Not now, Malfoy.” 

“What deal,” Cressida sighed. It seemed like everyone wanted to stretch her thin today or really just test her limits. 

“Oh,” Abraxas smirked, “Verdell here came up with a great idea to ask you- OI! What the bloody hell was that for?” Verdell has elbowed Abraxas hard in the ribs. 

“Abraxas she’s had a long day, just let it go. It’s not like she’d say yes anyways,” he looked down, quite sadly. 

“No, I want to hear it,” Cressida said, now genuinely interested in what they had to say. Unless it involved her giving them a damn prophecy when she was not even sure she was a seer herself. If that was the case she’d probably be headed straight for Azkaban for performing the killing curse on a bunch of snobby little Slytherins.

Verdell opened his mouth and closed it, before shaking his head and looking at Abraxas. 

“Oh you want me to tell her? After you bloody dislocated a rib?” 

“No I just wish you wouldn’t have said anything you arse.” He turned to Cressida, “Look, obviously you can tell that I like you a little bit.”

“A little bit?”

“Abraxas, I swear on Merlin’s descendants I will kill you.” He shook his head and motioned for Abraxas to get lost, he took the hint and turned to the next corridor, tossing Cressida a wink. Cressida was trying her best to not erupt from laughter. 

“Anyways,” Verdell continued, “I had a thought. Obviously you play quidditch, how good you are I can’t say, but if you are half as good as your mum, then you could give every player at Hogwarts a run for their money.”

She had not had that much time to think about quidditch. She knew that quidditch tryouts for the Slytherin team were coming up quick and she needed to get out on her broom if she wanted the open position of seeker. Unlike her mother, she preferred to stay away from all of the action and spend the entirety stressed out and looking for that bloody golden ball.

“Okay,” Cressida said, folding her arms, “I’m intrigued.”

Verdell took a deep breath, “The first Hogsmeade trip is this Saturday, so I already checked and the quidditch pitch tomorrow is open. So I thought that we could have a three-on-three game, as Olive’s family does not see quidditch as a ladylike sport and Tom refuses to come anywhere near a broom. You and me as captains. If you win, you can figure something out, I suppose. But if I win you come on a date with me to Hogsmeade?” Verdell’s voice had grown quieter, but his face redder.

Cressida let out a laugh of relief. “Oh that’s all? I am a little mad that you did not think of offering me a day of peace and quiet if I win.” She grinned and offered Verdell her hand. “You’re on.”

Verdell looked taken back, as if someone was playing a huge joke on him. “Really?” 

“Really. Just one condition,” she looked at Abraxas who was peeking around the corridor, still clutching his side but looking wildly amused nonetheless. “You get Rheneas and Felix. I get Abraxas and Freddie.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all! If you are keeping up with this, I am going to try and write a chapter one day and edit the next. So, every other day I will try my best to put out a post. If you are genuinely reading/liking this, let me know! I would love to talk to you and hear your inputs!


	5. Butterbeers and Fears

“You ready there, Captain?” Abraxas shouted with glee as he hopped off his broom, running over to meet Cressida. 

She rolled her eyes and slung her Cleansweep 1000 over her shoulder. “As ready as l’ll ever be in these bloody conditions.”

Yesterday had been picture perfect. Today it was a wonderful 35 degrees outside and very, very cloudy. She could not stop her teeth from chattering. 

“Maybe you can see who will win with that kind of yours,” Abraxas chuckled and threw his arm over Cressida’s shoulders. 

“Are you referring to the quote, unquote, _sight_ , I supposedly have? Or the fact that I am a seeker?” 

“Both,” Abraxas grinned, his shaggy blonde hair was wet and fell over his eyes, he kept brushing it out of his eyes. If Abraxas was going to be playing with his hair all day instead of using a charm to hold it in place, maybe Cressida should have chosen Lestrange to play beater instead. But Abraxas was apparently a great beater, he got into the Slytherin team his second year. 

Verdell got the position of keeper his third year and Felix took a position as a chaser just last year. Apparently since Abraxas’s appointment to the team, they had not failed to lose a Quidditch Cup, until last year where they got a truly awful seeker. Darcy Crabbe was his name, and according to Abraxas, ‘a blind flobberworm could’ve done a bloody better job than that tosser.’ 

Cressida rolled her head in a couple of circles trying to warm herself up. It had been since the beginning of August that she had played quidditch with the little wizard boy she babysat in Oxford. She was sure that she would be fine, she just had not played the position of chaser for a while. She had heard that Felix was a rather good chaser, and that had slightly worried her.

Verdell, Rheneas, and Winnifred were all coming down to the pitch together, Cressida could see Felix walking behind them by a hundred feet or so, talking to three other older Slytherin boys.

“Who are they?” Cressida asked Abraxas, who was slipping on his beater’s gloves.

He smirked at her. “Well since Elora Lourdes daughter was playing quidditch down here tonight, we all thought it might be prudent to invite the rest of the team down to see what she could do.”

“Merlin’s beard!” Cressida exclaimed, hitting Abraxas on the shoulder. “You might have wanted to tell me this beforehand! I really want that spot and this is the first time I have flown in almost two months!” 

“Guess you should have practiced more,” he winked and took off on his broom again, flying in circles around the pitch. Cressida groaned out loud. She really wanted this spot, mainly because she loved the sport, but also she wanted to prove to her mother that she was as good, if not better than her at some things.

“Cissie! You ready to beat their arses into a bloody pulp?” Winnifred asked, jogging up to meet Cressida at the center of the pitch. She nodded, to be honest she figured that she would go on the date with Verdell anyways, to be nice. But she really wanted to win this game, to stick it to...who? She did not know, but her competitive spirit would not let her lose this game.

“Hey, Cress,” Felix said, moving closer to her, “That guy in the middle,” he nodded towards the tall red-haired boy, “That is Theodore Rosier, he is the captain, so if you want to be considered for the team, impress him.”

“Oh, is this some friendly help before you try to knock me off my broom in a few minutes?” Cressida laughed at the boy. 

“Hey! I’ll go easy on you. Would not want to hurt your precious seeker hands now would we?” 

She shook her head as Verdell walked up to her, looking nervous, but in a cute way. In a cute way! _Merlin, was she ‘falling’ for the boy already? Or was that just what she was supposed to think_?

“So, you ready Captain?” Verdell asked, he smirked at the small crowd that had grown on the stands, apparently more than just the senior Slytherin team members wanted to see if Cressida could hold up to her mother’s standards.

She gave Verdell a nasty smile and refused to break eye contact, “Malfoy! Selwyn! Get your arses over here!” She shouted out. “And yes, Captain, I am looking forward to this game very much.”

Winnifred and Abraxas joined behind her, and Felix and Rheneas joined behind Verdell. Apparently Felix had convinced the one Slytherin chaser, Valentino Yaxley, to referee the match.

“Alright,” the gangly boy said, “I want you two to shake hands and have a nice fair match? Alright?” The two captains nodded.

The teams would be playing with just the quaffle and one bludger. Valentino went to open the quidditch chest and counted down, “Three...two...one...AND THEY ARE OFF!”

Cressida immediately went after the quaffle that Valentino threw into the air, but Felix was quicker. Cressida had to give Felix credit, he had more of a keeper’s build, but he was quick on his broom. 

Since it was not a full match, the teams decided to play for thirty minutes, and whoever had the most points at the end would be declared winner.

Cressida sped after Felix, with her agility from playing seeker, she quickly closed the gap. Felix went to throw the quaffle into the goal posts, but Cressida swerved in front of it before it could even get near Winnifred. She could hear the small group of students in the stands gasp out of excitement. 

She quickly flew towards Verdell, who was watching Cressida very carefully, so close in fact, he had to duck at the last second from the bludger that Abraxas sent flying his way, with a clear shot, Cressida easily scored ten points.

“Way to go Cress!” Abraxas shouted as he sped off towards Rheneas, trying to gain back control of the bludger. Cressida could hear the muffled cheers coming from the stands.

She shook her head, trying to regain herself as Verdell threw the quaffle back out into the pitch. Felix got to it first, Cressida sped off after him. _Being a chaser was rather exhausting_. Felix tossed the quaffle towards the goal post, Winnifred misjudged which one Felix was aiming for and let the quaffle slip in. The crowd groaned.

The game went smoothly for a little while, back and forth between the two. Felix had scored eighty points, Cressida had scored seventy. They were coming into the last five minutes of the match and Felix had possession of the quaffle. 

“Going to try and stop me, Lefevre?” He shouted out, as Cressida was coasting off of Felix's broom path. 

Cressida gritted her teeth and pushed into Felix, causing him to fumble with the quaffle, he looked shocked, he was not expecting Cressida to play dirty now. But Cressida Lefevre refused to lose. 

Felix got ahead of Cressida by a few feet and went to throw it into the goal post, it was a clear shot. Winnifred could block it, but it was almost as if it was meant to go in, until it wasn’t. Cressida had swooped down low and caught the quaffle, flying above Felix, she shot off towards the opposite end. She was so focused she didn’t hear the fast whizzing of the bludger or Abraxas’s shouts for her to watch out. At the last moment she saw the bludger head right for her. She ducked and barrel-rolled on her broom. She miscalculated her projection and was suddenly left dangling from mid-air, only grasping onto the broom with one hand, refusing to drop the quaffle.

_Fucking wankers. This was **not** a real quidditch match _. She saw Rheneas swoop down near her, as Abraxas took off after the bludger, trying to keep it under control.__

__“All right?” Rheneas asked, gawking at the sight of Cressida dangling one-hundred and eighty feet up in the air. She nodded and gritted her teeth, yanking herself back up. She flew past Rheneas, giving him a shove for good measure, and threw the quaffle into the goal post. Verdell was so transfixed with Cressida’s performance he barely registered the quaffle flying past his ear._ _

__Quickly regaining himself, Verdell threw the quaffle back out, there were only thirty seconds left and the match was tied. Felix captured the quaffle again, and once more Cressida was on his tail trying to catch up to him. The bludger roared past Felix, startling him and causing him to drop the quaffle. Cressida nimbly caught it and sped back off towards Verdell, it would be tricky but she tried an unusual throw to go right to the left of Verdell. The clock was ringing out with only ten seconds left. She knew Verdell was determined to win, she faked a throw, catching Verdell off guard, but allowing for the quaffle to easily sail right into the goal posts, solidifying her team’s win._ _

__She flew to the ground and hopped off, grinning madly as Winnifred and Abraxas flew down near her, enveloping them into a large group hug._ _

__“Merlin! You were incredible! You sure you don’t want to play chaser? I’m sure we could kick Felix off of the team?” Abraxas chuckled._ _

__“Bloody hell, I’d give it up for you,” Felix called, hoping off his own broom and giving Cressida an awkward side hug._ _

__Verdell slowly made his way over to the group, bringing with him an air of uneasiness._ _

__“We were just leaving to go to the locker room!” Winnifred called, pulling on Abraxas’s sleeve and beckoning for Felix and Rheneas to follow. They protested but eventually subdued when Winnifred kicked Abraxas in the shins and told him to stop whining. She shot Cressida a wink before continuing to urge the other boys along._ _

__Cressida nodded towards the other end of the field, asking for Verdell to follow her. He complied._ _

__“So,” he started. “You won? Wait, that's not a question. I guess what is a question is what do you want? You never told me what you wanted.” Verdell looked unbearably sad, and Cressida was amused but also concerned for the boy’s taste in partners if he was this sad over her._ _

__“Well,” Cressida smirked. She checked behind her shoulder to ensure that they were alone. “I’m free this Saturday and I really don’t fancy going to Hogsmeade alone without a date.”_ _

__“You want me to ask Abraxas for you? You two seem awfully close.”_ _

__“Verdell, are you really that dense?” Cressida barked out a laugh._ _

__“Wait, are you saying,” he motioned a back and forth movement between the two fifth years. “Like, _us_?” _ _

__Cressida groaned aloud, “Yes, you tosser!.” Verdell looked like he was going to do a backflip. She nudged him with her muddy quidditch boots, “Don’t make me regret this Rowle.”_ _

__“Aye-aye, Captain!”_ _

__Cressida laughed and offered out her hand for him to take and then started to make the trek back up to the Slytherin common room._ _

__....._ _

__“Ugh! I can’t believe that you still decided to go with him!” Winnifred was complaining as the three girls were getting ready for the Hogsmeade trip early Saturday morning._ _

__“I think it is rather romantic, if not a bit tacky. On your end of course,” Olive said, combing out her thin blonde hair._ _

__Cressida refrained from rolling her eyes, ever since she told the two girls she was still going to go on a date with Verdell, Olive had been extremely passive aggressive towards her. It was not unusual for Olive to be like that, but Cressida had to wonder if she had some underlying motive. Maybe just to piss Cressida off, it was working if that was the game._ _

__Cressida looked at Winnifred and laughed at her friend’s attitude towards having to go to Hogsmeade alone._ _

__“Why didn’t you say yes to Thane if you were so adamant to not go alone? He’s really sweet.”_ _

__Winnifred wrinkled her nose, “Not my type,” she mumbled before turning back to her mirror, adjusting her collar on her traveling robes._ _

__Cressida sighed, she felt bad, as even Olive had a date with Rheneas. Although she was not necessarily thrilled about it. _Maybe Olive did like Verdell_. But nonetheless, Winnifred would have to go with Felix and Abraxas as a group, and Tom as well, if he decided to show._ _

__Cressida had not seen him since their encounter earlier in the week after the incident in the Divination classroom. Speaking of which, Cressida had to attend a meeting with Faye, and for some reason, Professor Dumbledore, about the potential magic she had. She shook her head, today was not about Tom or the Sight, it was about having a nice time with Verdell._ _

__The three girls soon made their way to the common room, Olive breezed past the small group of students that had concurred in the middle of the common room. She grabbed Rheneas’s hand, and, once again, for reasons Cressida had no idea why, shot her a glare and left the room._ _

__“You clean up nice Lefevre!” Abraxas whispered, putting his hand on her shoulder and guiding her to a nervous looking Verdell. Abraxas cleared his throat. “Since Mr. and Mrs. Lefevre are not here to give you a little talk, I expect that you will treat Cressida here, with great respect and ensure her safety. Because if she comes back angry I will make sure that you never see-”_ _

__“RAX!”_ _

__“Alright, alright,” Abraxas grinned. “You get the point. Have fun!” He kissed Cressida on the cheek and shot a final glare at Verdell before making his way back to Winnifred and Felix, it looked as if Tom had joined them as well. His expression was blank and unemotional as always, but Cressida swore there was a hint of longing behind his eyes._ _

__Verdell’s face was tinged red from Abraxas’s little talk. He gave Cressida a shy smile, and offered his arm out to her. She took it and they left the common room in an uneventful manner._ _

__The two walked in silence for a while, they were on the path to Hogsmeade with other students and couples. Finally Verdell spoke, “You’ve never been here? I’m assuming at least?”_ _

__“Actually,” Cressida responded. “I have a handful of times with my parents. It’s such a quaint little town. I’d want to live somewhere like here if I could. Maybe in an old gothic style house, near a moor. Like _Wuthering Heights_!” _ _

__“What is _Wuthering Heights_?” Verdell asked, genuinely curious._ _

__“You’ve never read it?” Cressida gasped, she put her hands over her heart in mock hurt, “I’m going to have to step away from this date! Kidding! Dell, I’m kidding you, tosser!” She laughed at the shocked look on his face._ _

__Verdell shook his head at Cressida, causing her to laugh even more. “I need to tell you all about the Brontë sisters! You’d have to love them because I love their work. Not as much as Jane Austen’s though! Merlin she’s incredible!”_ _

__“I’ve never heard of them. Are they newer authors?” Verdell asked._ _

__“No, no, no. The Brontë sisters died about one-hundred or so years ago. Austen died even before that. I can’t believe you’ve never heard of them before!”_ _

__“Well I’ve never heard of their families before? Are they English or French?” He maneuvered around a group of third year Ravenclaws who were wrestling with each other._ _

__“Verdell,” Cressida said, slowly in realization. “They are muggle authors.”_ _

__His smile dropped into a knowing frown. “Oh.” He immediately became uncomfortable. “My family never approved of anything muggle related,” he looked down at his polished black shoes, refusing to meet Cressida’s eyes._ _

__She huffed out a long breath. She wanted to have this conversation with Verdell, but she was worried he would shrug it off. “Well, you don’t have to follow exactly what your parents said,” she walked ahead of him, continuing to talk, “I really don’t wish to continue this date if you are going to honestly tell me that you support them, your family’s views, I should say. Muggles are just as magical as us, magical in a human sense. They actually are probably more brilliant than us wizards are. They are adaptable to their surroundings, they, unlike us, don’t have magic at their beck and call twenty-four seven.”_ _

__Verdell trudged alongside Cressida, not really saying anything. “It is not that I don’t like muggles, it is just, I never really learned about them. My family was so bloody determined that my sister and I never strayed from the wizarding world.”_ _

__Cressida gave him a sad smile, “That is no way to learn. And no reason, well there is absolutely no reason, to uphold prejudices against muggles, Verdell.”_ _

__Verdell looked nervous as they finally arrived in the quaint village, Cressida could smell the sweets from Honeydukes two blocks away._ _

__Verdell cleared his throat and looked at Cressida, she could feel his blood rushing to his head and the unnerving feelings he was having. “My mother told me that muggles would kill us if they found out about us. Like they did in that Salem place. Wasn’t it in Canada?”_ _

__Cressida bit her tongue, “Verdell,” she started carefully. “That was close to three-hundred years ago. Muggles were and are scared of what they can’t control, as we all are. Verdell, I am asking you to please step outside the mind that has been built for you and question what could actually happen, what does happen. There is an entire world that you won’t even consider looking at because you are scared?” She shook her head with a light smile on her face. “I’d rather take the risk and see what the world has to offer to us, wouldn’t you? Then be stuck in this bubble?”_ _

__She could tell that her words seemed to have had an effect on Verdell, as he looked to be deep in thought as they arrived outside of Honeydukes. “Will you teach me what you know about muggles? I’ll try to talk to the Muggle Studies professor as well. You’re right, I can’t not live in a tiny portion of the world. Can we start with, um, Jane Brontë?” He gave her a soft, questioning smile._ _

__Cressida chuckled with the incorrect name he gave, but was happy to see he was enthused nonetheless. “Sure, let’s get some chocolate right now though. I am dying for something sweet.” She tugged on his hand and he cheerfully followed her into the store._ _

__The store was overly crowded by other students from Hogwarts, but Cressida, as childish as she knew it was, knew exactly what sweets she wanted from here and was ready to checkout before Verdell had even grabbed one item._ _

__Verdell picked up a package of pumpkin pasties. “Mum and Victoire like them. Thought I might send some home.”_ _

__Cressida sighed and realized she’d better pick up a bag of acid pops for her father and cauldron cakes for her mother. She had now gathered all her items, as did Verdell and they were arguing. Verdell wanted to pay for her goods, but she refuted his offer._ _

__“Verdell, this is also for my family. You are not going to buy me anything.”_ _

__“But that’s how-”_ _

__“If you bloody say ‘that’s how it is supposed to be,’ I’m leaving right now. Hey! Don’t laugh, I am not kidding.” She glared at him. “Discussions over. If you are so adamant to buy me something, you can buy me a butterbeer, but I will be damned to have you pay for something that is going to my family.” She handed the cashier a galleon and two sickles before Verdell could protest further._ _

__Loaded with sweets, the two exited the sweets shop and headed to the Three Broomsticks._ _

__“I will be paying for this, Lefevre,” Verdell said, as he pulled out a chair for Cressida to get situated on._ _

__She rolled her eyes, but didn’t protest when the strawberry blonde boy went up to the counter to place their order. She admired him from afar, he was three inches taller than herself, she was five foot, eight inches. Verdell was built rather nicely from playing keeper for years. Cressida blushed to herself as she acknowledged that. However, her favorite part of him was in fact his strikingly blue eyes. She herself was grateful she had green eyes, almost all of the women in the Lefevre family had blue ones. She hated being associated with her ancestors and what most of them stood for._ _

__Verdell walked back to their table tucked in a corner, away from the hustle and bustle of the bar. He set the golden glasses down with a gentle thud and a grin. Cressida watched with amusement as he raised his glass slightly, “A toast,” he began, “for a wonderful date with an even more wonderful woman.”_ _

__Cressida felt herself grow warm, and inwardly cursed herself out of embarrassment. Verdell was a tricky little git, and Cressida was still not sure of her exact feelings towards him. She supposed it was more than, what do people say, _more than just friends_. _ _

__She took a sip of the sweet liquid and thought of a question, “Have you ever been on a date before?”_ _

__Verdell choked on his drink a bit, his already rosy cheeks growing even redder. He looked down, “No, actually…”_ _

__“Really?” Cressida asked, trying to hide her shock. All of the people she had met at Hogwarts were beautiful, she had naively assumed that they all had been on dates with each other. She thought wrong._ _

__Verdell cleared his throat, “Yeah, um, no one really, you know, came along...I never, er, felt compelled to ask someone…”_ _

__Cressida placed her hand on top of his. “Verdell, it is alright. You don’t have to justify anything to me, alright.” She kept her hand on his, but leaned back slightly, taking a sip of her butterbeer._ _

__“This might be stepping over the line, but, have you ever, ya know,” Verdell gestured with his eyes, seemingly determined to not remove his hand from under Cressida’s._ _

__“Oh! You mean like on a date?” Cressida mused, to which Verdell nodded in approval. “Well, erm, yes actually. Multiple times actually.” She thought back to mid-summer time, the beach on a remote part of Normandy. She thought of that time often, it was her only sense of happiness since...She shook her head, bringing her back from another time, a past she refused to revisit._ _

__“Oh.” Is all that Verdell could muster out._ _

__Cressida decided to quickly change the subject and talk to Verdell about quidditch and the Brontë sisters instead. She made sure to clarify that Emily and Charlotte were different people, as was Jane Austen. Verdell seemed to still be confused._ _

__After close to two hours of talking about nothing that was everything, Cressida felt in her chest a feeling she had never truly felt before. Love? No, it was not love. Acceptance, close but not quite. She could not place her finger on what exactly Verdell made her feel, but she was determined to not let him or this feeling slip from her grasp._ _

__Verdell went up to the bar to close the tab on their butterbeers, Cressida could not wait until she was of age and could legally drink firewhiskey. She sat back in her chair and let her mind wander, she realized, as she sat up with a start that something was different about the Three Broomsticks interior. _She could hear every person’s thoughts_. _ _

__She could hear their thoughts, it seemed all jumbled and like rubbish. She could not understand what had happened in that brief moment that allowed for her to now hear all of these thoughts. She could feel her chest start to heave in an extremely fast manner, she focused on her breathing, but it was too much. She could hear them all and it was so painful. She gripped the edge of the table, silently begging Verdell to come back so they could leave._ _

__She looked up, searching for Verdell in all of the voices, when she met the eyes of a brown haired man. He looked upon her with such ferocity, her breathing halted for a split second. His deep black eyes seemed to ask a question and give a thousand answers._ _

___I know what you did_. It was the same voice she had heard in her mind earlier this week in Faye’s classroom. She could not break out of the trance between her and this mystery man. He raised his eyebrows in mock confusion. Cressida wanted to yell, she wanted to escape, she could not run. She could not save her...She screamed until her throat was raw without moving a muscle in her body._ _

__“Cress?” Verdell’s soft voice brought her back to her reality. He looked extremely concerned, but what was relieving, or just more concerning, was that all of the voices had simultaneously stopped, she looked around for the mystery man, but he was gone. Maybe she was going completely insane._ _

__“Cressida?” Verdell pressed again, concern laced in his voice. “Are you all right?”_ _

__Cressida pulled on her fake smile, as she had done many times before and gulped and blinked long once. “Yes,” her voice wavered a bit. “I think I’m ready to eat this Honeydukes chocolate, how about you? Shall we go back to the castle?” Cressida was moving towards the door before Verdell could even answer._ _

__The two walked hand-in-hand up the path to the school, but Cressida kept looking behind her shoulder, searching for something she already knew would not be there._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone, if anyone is reading lol. I hope wherever you are, you are having a wonderful day. I wanted to ask that if you are interested in this story, would you be interested in me creating an Instagram account for my work? Let me know how you all are doing, and your thoughts, it would mean the world!


	6. Seeing in the Dark

“Give me a prophecy,” Verdell joked, stroking Cressida’s hair. The two were sitting on Cressida’s bed, studying Divination. The doors were open, she wished that she was in Gryffindor sometimes, simply so that she could open windows instead of being in the dark underground. 

“Bugger off,” she sighed, pushing him playfully with her shoulder. He laughed and laid back on her bed stretching out his arms. Cressida looked at Verdell as he adjusted his arms behind his head. She caught herself blushing and turned away. It had been a little over a week since their date at Hogsmeade and the two had become inseparable, much to Winnifred and Abraxas’s dismay. They complained that they were losing their best friend. Verdell gave them pointed looks the first time they said that. He knew they were referring to Cressida, even after knowing him for years. 

Cressida could feel Verdell smirking at her, but she refused to turn around. The boy had been incredibly ‘gentlemanly’ with her. Cressida also wondered if he was nervous, never having been with someone. 

Cressida sighed and looked at her watch. “Come on, Dell. We will be late for potions if we don’t leave now.” 

He groaned and sat up, his cheeks still the same rosy color they had been the night Cressida met him. Verdell got off the bed and performed an organizational charm and handed Cressida her bag. The two left the fifth year girls’ dormitory. 

Apparently, as Cressida had learned in the past week, the only reason the boys could come into the girls dormitory was when a few years ago, Theodore Rosier’s brother, Evan, broke the charm that stopped the boys from traveling up that hallway. Evan was a very talented wizard, as well as being incredibly determined to get to his girlfriend, Veronica Vane.

The Slytherins would take that secret with them all to their graves. Or at least until Slughorn found out somehow. 

The two entered Slughorn’s room, and found the group of students huddled around the doorway. 

“Ah, there’s the lovers,” Abraxas crooned and walked over to Cressida, his smile dropping into an annoyed frown. “Apparently Slughorn had enough with the Weasley and Prewett duo and decided to reassign partners. _On his own agenda_.”

Cressida audibly groaned. Abraxas was her partner and in her opinion, the two of them, and unfortunately Tom, were the best potion makers in their year. Slughorn adored Cressida. Partially because of her potion making abilities, but mostly because she was Elora Lourdes daughter _and_ a Lefevre. 

The man, who remarkably did remind Cressida of a slug, sauntered out into the classroom and began his usual spiel. “...As I am sure most of you have heard, I have decided to give you new partners because of some,” he glared at Billius Weasley and Abel Prewett, “students' behavior. These will be your partners for the rest of the year.”

There were groans all around the classroom. Gryffindor and Slytherin had a rivalry dating back hundreds of years, and now, in arguably the most competitive class, the slug decided to make them work together. 

“If you have a problem with that, well, deal with it. I’m not going to delay this interruption anymore. Miss Selwyn and Mr. Patel find a seat. Mr. Rowle and Miss Hornby please find a table.” Olive looked sad when Slughorn announced that, _maybe she didn’t like Verdell_? Cressida shook her head, she didn’t have time to deal with Olive’s passive-aggressiveness anymore.

“Mr. Lestrange and Mr. Prewett-”

“But sir-”

“Mr. Lestrange sit down. I will not have you interrupting my class either. Ah let’s see, Mr. Malfoy and…”

Cressida realized she was gripping Abraxas’s hand, maybe Slughorn would take pity on the two friends. “ Mr. Weasley.” 

Abraxas let out a growl and marched over to a bent over Billius Weasley, who seemed to be relishing in Abraxas’s most unfortunate luck. 

“Ah, Miss Lefevre. I think my two best students should go together, you and Mr. Riddle can find a seat then!” 

Cressida shot a glare to Tom as he looked unwaveringly right at her. _That prick has absolutely no emotions! She ought to slug Slughorn for this outrageous act_! She faked a smile at Slughorn, but quickly wiped it from her face as she sat down next to Tom. 

“Unfortunate luck for us both Miss Lefevre. I’m afraid that I am only in the presence of one talented potion-maker. Not yourself I presume?” Tom asked cockily, while skimming over to procedure for the Befuddlement Draught.

Cressida could feel her blood boiling and gripped the end of the desk, determined not to let Tom get the better of her. “Tom,” she started slowly. “I am going to ask, no, not even ask of you. I beg of you, please do not call me ‘Miss Lefevre.’ Please, if we have to work together, I think it can be on a first name basis.” 

Tom clenched his jaw and rolled his shoulders, “If you must insist, _Cressida_.” 

“I have been insisting since the first night I met you. Go get the scurvy grass. I want to keep up the same pace as I did with Abraxas, so that means, finishing with the best potion.”

“Oh,” Tom’s unwavering face seemed to be etched with undertones of amusement. “Oh, I am sure that you only had the _best_ potion because of Abraxas.” He stalked off to the storage shelves, many admiring eyes followed him.

Cressida’s eyes, however, were burning with annoyance at the git’s audacity. She was a good potion maker, right? She shook her head slightly, now she was second guessing herself because of Tom’s haughty attitude towards her.

Tom returned with the needed ingredients to the potion and sat down next to Cressida, quietly. “I too would like to uphold my reputation with Professor Slughorn, so, let’s please get to work. This potion is not going to build itself _Cressida_.”

The emphasis on her name brought her anger back to the brim, but she could not fail at such a simple potion. So she skimmed the directions and got started on the Befuddlement Draught. Surprisingly, with the two working together, it was quiet and productive. Of course, there were many glares and snorts from Cressida, as well as Tom’s unemotional face. Only from time-to-time, Cressida took notice that he clenched his jaw out of annoyance or anger. 

Maybe he was not completely soulless. 

With the final stir from Cressida, the pair were sitting pretty with a perfect draught in front of them. Slughorn, of course, was over the moon with their performance. “I knew it was right to put my strongest students together!” He laughed delightedly. “Of course, Tom, you know all about the little dinners I throw,” he lowered his voice, “but you, Miss Lefevre, should be delighted to know that I would love for you to be in attendance. Of course, they will have to wait a bit longer, until after Halloween.”

Cressida hid her grimace with a smile, “Of course, sir, I would be thrilled to attend this. Along with Mr. Riddle.” She could feel Tom’s distaste of the formal use of his name, perhaps it was sadistic in a way, but she relished in digging into Tom where it stung the most. 

Slughorn was suddenly distracted by a loud commotion coming from Rheneas and Abel's table.

“You blundering git!” Rheneas shouted. Cressida had never heard him raise his voice above a soft whisper. “I almost had it finished! And now due to your bloody ignorance we have to start all over, so thank you for that!” He ran his hands through his cropped brunette hair.

Cressida, who was a little bit in shock from his sudden outburst, looked at Tom who, surprisingly, mirrored her own face. 

“I didn’t realize that Rheneas could shout,” Cressida murmured to Tom.

Tom raised his eyebrows. “He rarely does. In all of the years I have known him, I can probably count on one hand the number of times he’s been publicly loud.” Tom’s eyes wandered over to where Slughorn was attempting to calm the boy. “He does not like to draw attention to himself in the classroom. Unlike yourself.” 

“Are you referring to the Divination class incident? Of which you were not there to even witness?” Cressida asked, her eyes shooting daggers at Tom.

“Perhaps. Or perhaps it is your overinflated ego that comes to all of your studies.”

“ _My_ overinflated ego? Who was it that stormed in and accused me and a professor of undermining an entire school population? I think your ego is just fragile Tom.”

Tom smirked, “Ah, see there it is once again, shifting any type of argument towards yourself to another person.”

“And that makes me have an overinflated ego?” Cressida raised her hands and put air quotes around ‘overinflated.’

“Perhaps, but I think that it simply shows that you are insecure. About what? I am not sure,” he shrugged. “But I think that I may try to figure it out.”

Eventually, Rheneas and Abel fixed their draught, and Slughorn, pleased with the class’s work, dismissed them all early. Cressida, Olive, Tom, and Rheneas were making their way to the Great Hall when a squeaky voice intercepted them.

“Cressida Lefevre!” Myrtle Warren, a fifth year Ravenclaw, came running up to the group. 

Cressida turned around, coming face-to-face with the nervous looking girl. She had her hair in two long pigtails and kept adjusting her glasses. Cressida smiled at her.

“What is it Myrtle?”

“Um, er, Professor Dumbledore asked me to tell you that he and Professor Orsic wish to meet with you in, um, Dumbledore’s office.” She went to adjust her glasses and dropped her one book with a rather large thud.

Olive snorted at Myrtle. Cressida turned around and shot the girl a glare before bending down and handing Myrtle back her book. 

“Thanks, Myrtle. I’ll go there straight away.” 

The pig-tailed girl nodded and kept her head down and rushed off towards the Great Hall away from the group of Slytherins. 

Cressida rounded back on Olive. “What the bloody hell is your problem? Can you for once be a decent human being? Or is that just so difficult for you?”

Olive opened her mouth angrily, but Cressida, who’s temper and patience grew short, stalked away back towards the corridor where Dumbledore’s office was. 

The corridor to Dumbledore’s office was very homey and decorated with hundreds of paintings. Cressida was admiring one of a small witch and a bunch of black and violet dyed roses when she saw Dumbledore walking towards her.

“Ah, Miss Lefevre, I see you got our message. Come, come, we would like to talk to you for a minute.” Dumbledore led her into his classroom, where Faye was already seated around Dumbledore’s desk. 

“Hi Didi!” Faye crooned out. Didi was a nickname Faye had given Cressida at a very young age. Apparently until Cressida was three years old, she could only pronounce the ending ‘-ida’ in her name. Faye found it extremely adorable and coined her the nickname that had stuck ever since.  
“So,” Cressida slipped into a seat, suddenly worn out, “what is it you would like to discuss?”

Faye and Dumbledore shared a look. Faye cleared her throat, “Well, last week, when you showed signs of having the Sight, Albus and I got to talking.”

Dumbledore picked up, “We would like to harness these powers that you possess and use them for the greater good. We are planning on developing a few tests within our own realms of academia, and see how powerful you really are.”

“And what exactly are you going to be doing with my powers, may I ask?” Cressida questioned, biting on her left thumb nail. 

Faye opened her mouth, but Dumbledore raised his hand, silencing her. “We would like to use you potentially in the future, against Grindelwald.”

Cressida felt the room cave in on her chest. “No.” 

“Cressida,” Faye pleaded. “At least hear us out!”

“No. I am not going anywhere near that part of the wizarding world ever again. My answer is positively, absolutely no.”

Dumbledore looked confused at Cressida’s statement and Faye’s reaction. 

“May I ask why? I would like to hear your insight as to why not.” 

Faye gave Cressida a warning look. Suddenly Cressida realized why she was meeting with Dumbledore as well as Faye. There was no way Cressida could say no without divulging into her past, which she had worked tremendously hard at keeping hidden. 

Cressida glared at Faye, at least Faye had the decency to look ashamed. Cressida wanted the war to end and Grindelwald to get what he deserved, but she promised herself she would never go there again.

“Fine. I would like to harness more of my powers,” Cressida started, only looking at Dumbledore. “I will not promise I will help you with Grindelwald, but you can look into my mind. That is my only answer to this. You will have to wait to see what I do in the future, if that includes working against Grindelwald.”

Dumbledore clenched his jaw but nodded nonetheless. “That is not the best answer, but it is a start. I will send out an owl in the coming weeks about lessons, alright?” 

Cressida nodded, eager to get out of the room. “Am I dismissed?” 

Dumbledore shook his head yes, and Cressida practically leapt from her chair into the corridor. She was eager to get to the dormitories, she wanted to get as far away from Faye as she could. No such luck.

“Didi! Wait!” Faye’s long black hair swung madly from her shoulders as she ran to catch up to Cressida. 

“How could you?” Cressida snarled.

“Cressida, it is not as easy as that. This is bigger than anything you could have imagined. Grindelwald knows I am a Seer, but you, you could be our secret weapon. You could restore peace into the wizarding world, Cressida. Don’t you think you owe it to her to at least try? Ta-”

“Don’t! Do not say her name!” Cressida hissed, beginning to walk away. 

“Cressida, she would want you to do this. You know that! She would want you to at least try and help! Imagine what you could do for muggle-borns, half-bloods, and pure-bloods alike! This could be the revenge you have been seeking for the past-”

“I haven’t been seeking revenge Faye! I have been trying to find myself again! I have spent the past year alone, in a dream. I have been sleepwalking in a world where love barely exists above the surface line.”

“Do you think I am not in pain too Cressida?” Faye asked, shocked. “I lost something too, we all did! So don’t try and act like you are the only one carrying the burden. She would want this, she would do what she could for the betterment of the world. You and I both know that.” 

“Don’t use her as a bargaining tool, Faye.” Cressida closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. She rubbed her temple, thinking. _She knew Faye was right, but she promised herself she would not get roped up in the game. She promised herself she would not open that door like_ she _had a year ago_. Cressida groaned and realized that to progress past this she would need to break her promise. “Fine, I will do it. But this sure as bloody hell is not for you, or Dumbledore, or Mother or Dad, not for bloody me. It is for her. No one else.” Cressida looked to see Faye give her a sharp nod, Faye was biting her lip, eyes wet with tears. 

Cressida turned and walked away, not waiting for anything else to be said between them, there was nothing else to be said. They both knew the toll that this would take on Cressida. They both knew what this would reawaken in her, the memories that Cressida had tried to repress. The real reason that she was here at Hogwarts.

Cressida found herself in the Great Hall, where the last stragglers for the dinner meal were entering. She sat down between Verdell and Winnifred, still numb to the world around her, lost in her thoughts.

“What did Orsic and Dumbledore want?” Verdell asked quietly, placing a buttered biscuit on Cressida’s plate. That was how she started every dinner meal, something Verdell took notice of the first week of her being at Hogwarts.

“Oh, nothing. They just wanted to talk about you know, _the sight_.” Cressida did not want to go into detail, one because she was not sure if this was to be confidential or not, and two, because she did not want to cry in front of these people. 

The Slytherins ate and laughed for the period, Olive shooting Cressida the occasional glare. However, Cressida did not give a hippogriff’s arse about Olive’s thought process. She just wanted to go to sleep. Unfortunately for her, Dippet looked as if he was going to make an announcement. Maybe that would send her to sleep.

“Good evening students!” Dippet’s chirpy voice echoed around the hall. “As you all know, Halloween is fast approaching, it is on a Saturday this year! So that means that the annual Hogwarts Halloween Ball will be taking place that very night as well! As always, first and second years are unable to attend, but third years and up, now is the time to send home for dress robes!”

“A ball?” Cressida asked Winnifred. Cressida had never been to an educational ball, sure, she had been to countless formal French balls, how different were they really?

“Yeah! Every year! Although it gets a little tiring after a while,” Winnifred lowered her voice, “The real reason Dippet does it is because the Minister of Magic comes to inspect the school every Halloween. He always makes sure he comes the day of the ball, when all of the school trustees are here, working hard. It makes a bloody good impression.”

Cressida sighed, if her evening had not been ruined by Faye’s brashness, she might be excited for this dance. 

“Who will you go with?” Cressida asked Winnifred. 

“Oh Merlin, I have no idea. Last year I went on a spur and went with Theodore Rosier. This year, who knows. I genuinely hate this ball, especially the bloody way we are supposed to waltz around the floor. I have no interest in _waltzing_ thank you very much. Get enough of that attending the bloody Malfoy balls every year.”

“Hey!” Abraxas exclaimed, eavesdropping. Winnifred turned to him and began arguing with him about the ridiculous dances the Malfoys made her participate in. 

Cressida shook her head, feeling amused again, and turned to Verdell. 

“Meet me at the Astronomy Tower tomorrow at midnight,” he whispered before turning his attention back to Tom. 

Cressida smiled to herself, but upon catching a tight look between Verdell and Tom, she caught herself wondering if Tom was ever going to fulfill the promise he made in potions and find out the secret she was trying so desperately hard to keep under wraps.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all! I created an Instagram account for my AO3 account. It is @/ bluetulips1414. If I get some followers, I will try to post updates and ideas on there regularly. I hope you are enjoying the story, lots of love to you all! :)


	7. A Golden Hallows Eve

Cressida was aware she was screaming. The red-headed girl in front of her had disappeared below the waterline. She scrambled after the girl, but she could not see below the clouded water. 

“Help!” Cressida was crying and screaming. No one was coming. 

Then her throat closed up. She could not breathe. She felt herself withering around, choked by some unknown force. Now she was the drowning girl. No one was coming to save her. It was her punishment for her sins.

Cressida let a guttural scream under the salty water, begging for anyone to come and save her. The water was filling her, it was in her lungs, it was reaching its cold dead grip to her heart. 

Then it was nothing, an airiness that Cressida had only ever felt once before.

She was lying in a green field, decorated with wildflowers. The flowers waved to Cressida as she stood up, yet there was no wind around her. There was no hand around her either, no wild manifestation of that bony hand. 

“Hello?” Cressida called out. The land was all too familiar, perhaps Faye was right, this place was more than just a dream. 

Cressida saw the same lanky figure she had seen before, appear again. She tried to run to them, but she was in mud, trudging in an unmovable ground. Sinking lower and lower into the earth until the wildflowers were dancing wildly above her head. 

The same masculine voice was all round her once again, “Not yet, Cressida. Not yet.” 

Falling, tumbling into a never-ending darkness, she finally hit something. She shot straight up, awake, and back in her dormitory. 

“Merlin Cissie!” Winnifred gasped, startled at Cressida’s jolt from her bed. “You are going to be the bloody death of me.”

Cressida groaned and laid back in her bed. It was Halloween morning, the ball was at seven that night, and for some reason, Theodore Rosier had the brilliant idea to have Quidditch tryouts for seeker that day. He was behind schedule, he should have had the seeker chosen by the beginning of October, as the first match was mid-November.

“Get up you lazy git!” Winnifred laughed, throwing a pillow at Cressida. She would have to tell Faye and Dumbledore she had the dream again at their next lesson. Cressida had only had one since the night Faye triggered past memories in her. It went rather well. Faye and Dumbledore were almost certain that Cressida was a Seer, the sheer power she had, raw, was far greater than anyone could have ever guessed.

Winnifred threw another pillow at Cressida, causing Cressida to yell and Olive to awake and storm out of the dormitory. Somewhat awake, Cressida tried to push the dreams to the back of her mind. 

She quickly threw on her quidditch clothes, while glaring at Winnifred, who looked all too happy to be up this early in the morning. The two girls, arms linked, made their way to the Great Hall to grab an early breakfast before the tryouts began.

Surprisingly, Tom and Rheneas were already in the Great Hall, seated around a traditional English breakfast, deep in conversation. The girls did not wish to interrupt the two, and choose to sit a few seats away. Winnifred filled her plate with bacon, eggs, beans, and a slice of sourdough toast, buttered with a helping of marmalade. Cressida, however, was feeling too nervous to eat, so she nibbled on a piece of scratchy toast instead. 

It did not calm her nerves. Nor did Abraxas’s grand entrance into the Great Hall. He was holding a large banner with ‘Frenchie for Seeker!’ engraved in silver lettering. Abraxas had enchanted a few snakes to slither around the banner as well, house pride, Cressida supposed. 

Embarrassingly, a few people cheered at the sign and began looking around the hall for Cressida, much to Winnifred’s amusement. Abraxas, trailed by Verdell and Felix, made their way to the two girls and plopped down, beginning to pile on their own plates as well.

“Are you not eating?” Verdell asked, mouth full of bacon. 

Cressida grimaced at the boy’s poor manners, feeling queasy, she shook her head. 

Winnifred laughed, “She’s so nervous, for no reason! It is going to be more entertaining to watch Crabbe tryout again. And apparently Antonin Dolohov and William Avery are trying out as well. As if they even have a chance!” Winnifred nudged Cressida with her foot under the table. “Cissie, Theodore and the rest of the team love you. And you are truly one of the best seekers I have ever seen play. You’ll be perfect!” 

Cressida nodded, still feeling sick. Verdell gave her hand a squeeze under the table, he did not let go. The other Slytherins joked and laughed for a while. Eventually, Theodore came up to the group.

“Lefevre, it is time to go down! Let’s go!”

Cressida nodded, still feeling quite sick. She looked at her friends, who all clapped as she stood up, nasty twats were extremely embarrassing. 

Theodore stood there, waiting. He heaved a sigh, “Do you three think you are exempt from this because Cressida is trying out?” He glared at Felix, Abraxas, and Verdell. “You are on the bloody team and I need your help, let’s go!”

The boys did not complain, surprisingly, Cressida thought that they probably were terrified of Theodore, he was rather scary. 

Cressida saw Abraxas grumbling something to Winnifred, and shoving her his homemade banner. Winnifred looked annoyed but seemed to agree to whatever Abraxas was suggesting. 

Cressida, with a new wave of nausea, followed Theodore down to the pitch. The other older players were collecting the other try-outs on their way to the pitch as well.

Cressida was adjusting her gloves while eying up the other tryouts. Abraxas was right, Darcy Crabbe looked like an awful choice for a seeker. He looked more like a keeper than anything, she was surprised that he was even attempting to try-out for the team again. William Avery was a spindly third-year. He did not seem to pose that much of a threat. However, Antoin Dolohov, looked to have murder in his eyes. While he was built like a beater, Cressida worried that his ruthless eyes would fight her for the spot.

“Alright!” Theodore called. The Slytherins and a few more students from other houses gathered on the stands. Apparently they were eager to see who would make the cut as well. 

“Alright,” Theodore repeated, clearing his throat. “Since there are only four of you, I’m going to run you through a few flying drills. And then I am not releasing the snitch, itself. It is under a spell. If it is not caught in five minutes it will return to me, because I don’t bloody fancy standing out here all day watching you incompetent gits chase after that bloody gold ball.”

After a few more directions from the senior members of the team, the try-outs were kicking off into the air. 

“Yeah Cress!” Abraxas called from below. Theodore elbowed him in the ribs.

“No favorites, Malfoy! Even her bloody boyfriend isn’t cheering for her!” Theodore barked, but caught Cressida’s eye and sent her a wink. 

The flying drills Theodore designed were meant to challenge their agility and speed. Cressida easily sailed past the other three. While pausing and watching Crabbe and Avery race towards the end of the pitch, she caught Dolohov shooting daggers at her. She tossed him an obscene gesture and sped off as Theodore was calling for their race to begin.

They both looped around the pitch twice. Easily, Cressida reached their starting point again first. Dolohov was spewing with fury.

Cressida shook her head, annoyed. After jotting down notes on his notebook, Theodore looked up and called for the try-outs to come to the ground. 

“Alright, I had Vane organize the line-up of who is snitch searching first. Crabbe, you’ll go first, followed by Dolohov, Avery, and Lefevre will finish last.” 

Darcy took his spot and Theodore called him off. Surprisingly, he was not as bad as Abraxas had first described him to be. Cressida made her way to Verdell. He put his arm around her back.

“You’ll do great Cress, I know it,” Verdell whispered to her. She leaned her head on his shoulder. He stiffened, but ultimately relaxed. Cressida, while watching Crabbe continue to fail at finding the snitch, caught the dark eyes of Tom in the stands. She was surprised that he even came to the tryouts. Tom had made it seem as if quidditch, or any type of loud activity, was beneath him. 

Finally, the five minutes concluded, but Crabbe had not caught the snitch. He let out some choice words at Theodore, who ultimately, annoyed with the situation hexed his mouth shut until the try-outs were finished. 

Next was Dolohov, and Cressida had to admit that he was a very good seeker. He had a quick agility to him, he was very focused and had an angry heart that would not allow him to lose. Within three minutes and forty-two seconds, Dolohov had captured the snitch. Cressida was worried that she might not be able to pull a time like that off. She thought she was a better flyer, but Dolohov had a ruthlessness that could not be ignored. 

Avery went next, and with three seconds left, caught the snitch. Cressida thought that he would make a good backup. Avery was cocky, yet not arrogant to the point of irritation. He was a good flyer and seemed to have a steady streak. Dolohov did seem to be very uneven with his broom.

Finally, Theodore was calling for Cressida to catch the snitch. “Alright Lefevre, when I let the snitch go, I will count down from five and then it is off alright?”

Cressida nodded, once again feeling very queasy over the whole thing. Maybe that toast would have been better with some butter, or marmalade, or lemon curd, or perhaps jam...She really should have just eaten something. 

Theodore gave Cressida a quick wink and let the snitch go, “Five...four...three...two...ONE, GO!”

Cressida sped off the ground, this time hearing cheers from Winnifred. The banner that Abraxas made was high above Winnifred’s head, the snakes were following in whichever direction Cressida had flown, it was simple and motivating. 

Cressida zipped from one end to the pitch to the other, continually zagging up and down the pitch, searching for that damned golden ball. She could not tell the time of how long she had been up in the pitch when she caught a glint of gold at the opposite end of the pitch. She rushed off, the wind stinging her face, reaching to catch the snitch. 

It hovered above the middle goal post, it was almost in Cressida’s grasp. It flew off down towards the ground, Cressida followed suit. She barrel-rolled, like she did on the game against Verdell, only this time she was not dangling above the ground. The snitch was just out of her grasp. She sped up and finally her exposed fingers enclosed the tiny gold ball.

She shot straight up towards the sky, her right hand held high, with the snitch in her grasp. She was ecstatic she caught the ball, not even her friends’ embarrassing cheers would damper her mood. She made her way to the group and Verdell embraced her, swinging her in a circle. 

Cressida laughed outright. “Merlin that was fun! I haven’t played a proper seeker position in over a year, I missed it!” 

Abraxas and Winnifred joined Cressida and Verdell, both squeezing the ever-loving lights out of her. “I told you that you would do great! Caught the bloody thing in forty-five seconds!” Abraxas exclaimed.

“Wait, I was only up there for forty-”

“Yeah!” Abraxas nodded enthusiastically. “It was incredible, Rosier has no choice, he has to put you on the team.”

Cressida looked over to Theodore, who was in deep conversation with Avery. Crabbe had already left. Dolohov looked extremely angry at everything, his face became even more contorted with outrage when Theodore began talking to him. 

“It’s because her bloody fucking boyfriend is on the team!” Dolohov spewed.

“No it is not. She simply had a better execution and time of-”

Dolohov pushed Theodore out of the way and rounded over to Cressida. "Watch yourself, you French bitch,” he snarled before heading out of the pitch.

“At least use a good insult if you are going to be a sore loser,” Cressida muttered, just loud enough so that Dolohov could hear it. He did not stop, keeping his pace towards the castle. 

“Lefevre,” Theodore started, “It is official. You are now officially the Slytherin Seeker! Congrats! You were amazing!” 

Verdell wrapped her in another approving hug, as Winnifred clapped her hands. “Told you so,” Winnifred joked. “Let’s go back to the dormitory to celebrate before we have to get around for this bloody ball, eh?” “I am going to chop off my hair!” Olive wailed. The girls were all getting around for the ball and Olive’s hair would not lay correctly no matter the spell of hand work that Winnifred and Cressida tried.

\-----

“I’m doing the best I can,” Cressida hissed, purposely tugging on Olive’s one curl. The ball was starting in half an hour and Cressida still had to do her makeup and get changed. Olive’s excessive whining was not hurrying the process along.

“You bi-” Olive began to shout.

“Finish that bloody sentence Olive and I swear to Merlin I _will_ make you bald,” Cressida snarled, yanking on another one of the blonde’s curls.

Olive pouted but kept her mouth shut. Finally, after another ten minutes Cressida got Olive’s hair to look semi-alright. It was not great but Cressida was flustered and had to get around. 

Winnifred offered to help Cressida with her makeup, but Cressida waved her off. “Honestly Freddie, it’s alright. Just get dressed and I’ll meet you all down there in a little bit.” 

Winnifred looked annoyed, but she dragged Olive out of the dormitory to give Cressida the peace she needed. Quickly, Cressida used both spell-work and her own hand to apply her makeup. Luckily, it did not take nearly as long as Olive’s hair had, she just had to get dressed.

When she wrote home to her parents about the ball, her mother’s reply was ecstatic. Cressida had not attended a ball in over a year, so Elora wanted her to have the best dress that a French family could provide. 

Cressida sighed, staring at a beautiful gold dress. The bodice was embellished with amber-like crystals. The sleeves were long and lacey. The neck-line was a low scalloped look. While her mother did tend to irritate her most days, Cressida could not deny the natural eye she had for fashion. 

Slipping on the dress, Cressida realized that her mother have more than a good eye. The leaf-like gold crown she sent, along with the gold dress, swallowed Cressida into a sea of gold. She looked in her mirror and was startled at the reflection staring back at her. 

She quickly slipped on the gold slippers her mother sent her, and briskly made her way to the common room. Luckily, many of the other students from different years were there too. She noticed a few strange, admiring looks from many of the younger students. She wanted to roll her eyes, but she felt a rush of stress, as she could not see any of her friends. 

Bristling with annoyance she stalked out of the common room. She could see Olive and Rheneas leaving, as well as Winnifred, as she was going with Caine Lee, leaving without her. But even her own bloody date had left her. Even Abraxas! That hurt a little more than it should have, but Abraxas would never want to miss spending a spare minute with Cressida. 

Muttering to herself, she rounded the corridor towards the Great Hall. She’d have to make her entrance all on her own, it was fine. She was used to it by now. 

The corridor was filled with many eager students waiting for the doors to open, there was to be a first dance between the head boy and girl, as well as the other seventh year prefects. Huffing over the long golden fabric that kept tripping her up, Cressida peeled off to an adjacent corridor. She realized she was overreacting. It was just a ball. But the last ball she had been to had ended very badly…

She inhaled sharply and decided then and there that she could not let this past memory affect the new ones she would make tonight. She turned the corner and immediately collided with someone.

“Oh, I’m so sorry!” The pale boy cried out. “I’m so sorry—Cressida?” 

Cressida brushed the nonexistent wrinkles from her dress and finally met the grey eyed boy, Thane McKinnon. “Oh, Thane! It’s alright, I’m fine.” He gave her a pointed look. “Really Thane, I’m fine.” 

“If you say so you bloody bumbling hippogriff!” He offered her his arm.

“Did you really just compare me to a hippogriff McKinnon!” Cressida exclaimed, in mock exaggeration. 

“Well that’s the second time you’ve fallen into me. If you weren’t already with that Rowle chap, I’d say you’d be falling for me!” He wiggled his eyebrows at her. The first time that Cressida had met Thane was on her way to Care of Magical Creatures. She was running late and the hill to the Forbidden Forest was rather steep. Luckily, for Cressida at least, she fell right on top of Thane. Thane, unfortunately got covered in mud and leaves, but he had a good humor and laughed it off. 

Cressida playfully smacked his arm. “Ridiculous! You are utterly ridiculous! You know, with jokes like that I’m sure you and my father would get along so well.” 

“I’m glad to see someone in the Lefevre family has a good sense of humor,” he raised his finger and pointed it at Cressida. “You should take notes from your father, seems like a lovely chap.” 

Cressida opened her mouth to make a remark as they rounded back to the main corridor, but finally caught sight of the other Slytherins. “Bloody backstabbers left me all alone in the common room. Made me walk down here without knowing where’d they’d gone,” Cressida muttered to Thane. 

“Oh I’m sorry, your Majesty! Was a walk alone difficult for you?” Thane asked playfully. 

“It was.” She let go of his arm and gave him a wink. “Because I had to be in the presence of your bloody bumbling presence.” She grimaced, “when I said it, didn’t have the same effect did it?” 

Thane covered his mouth in laughter, shaking his head. Cressida blew him a sarcastic kiss, but gave him a genuine wave before making her way over to the others. They looked to be in light conversation, but it dropped all at once when they caught sight of Cressida. 

All of them, even Tom, stared at Cressida in a type of awe. Finally, Abraxas cleared his throat. Many of the students had already filed into the Great Hall to watch the first dance, but over half were still lingering in the corridor. 

“Abraxas…”Verdell hissed. “Stop it.” 

Abraxas tutted at the rosy cheeked boy and hopped onto a near table. 

“Ladies and gentleman-!” 

“Malfoy enough!” 

“-It is with my greatest pleasure that I introduce to you to my best friend-“

“Oh Merlin!” Cressida finally caught on to why no one waited for her. “RAX! I swear on Merlin’s-“

“AND new Slytherin seeker-“

“Malfoy enough!” Winnifred hissed, but there was no stopping the Malfoy boy.

“The best English Frenchie, Miss Cress-“

Verdell had enough and yanked a giddy Abraxas down. Cressida walked up to him and slapped his arm. “Are you done embarrassing yourself?”

He gave her a goofy grin. “Never.” He smiled at her unhappy expression. “By the way-“

A cold cough came from behind them. Verdell looked annoyed at Abraxas’s performance. “Can I have my date now?” 

Abraxas rolled his eyes. Cressida offered Verdell her hand. He latched on and the two made their way into the Great Hall. The first dance was just finishing up.

Verdell led Cressida in a slow waltz. “You look beautiful. You, er, you are beautiful.” 

Cressida smiled at the boy’s gentle heart. “Thanks Dell. You look incredibly handsome.” 

Cressida could tell that Verdell was not given compliments of the sort often. They continued to dance around the ballroom. Many of the students were staring at Cressida in awe. Great. Just another reason for people to talk about this mythical French girl. 

Cressida saw Winnifred and Caine dancing joyously. Olive and Rheneas looked annoyed but tolerant of each other’s company. Felix and Tom were sitting alone at a table. Cressida could tell that Tom was not the type to want to get up and waltz around a ballroom unless absolutely necessary. Abraxas on the other hand, had made his way over to a Ravenclaw girl, Eveleth Benson. She seemed eager to dance with Abraxas. 

“I’m assuming that Rax dragged you all down here for that little stunt before we all came in?”

Verdell rolled his eyes. “Winnie, Caine, and I were all waiting for you to come down, but Malfoy had to make his ridiculous spiel about how he wanted to announce to the whole bloody school that you are our new seeker.” Abraxas shook his head. “One thing you should know, when Abraxas wants something, there’s no stopping it.” 

The music changed to a quicker, upbeat tune. “Oh!” Cressida gasped. “This is such a fun song, come on Dell!” The two danced, laughing and quick-stepping around the others. 

Unbeknownst to Cressida, many admiring eyes watched her and commented on the absurdity that a Lefevre would be with a Rowle. The Rowles were a lower status pureblood family, even the Sacred Twenty-Eight had different classes. Many students, and even professors, assumed that Malfoy and Lefevre would be somewhat of an item.

A song called “Magic in my Moondust,” ended, the students all clapped happily. “Do you want a drink?” Verdell asked. Cressida nodded and gave him a kiss upon his cheek. His red cheeks grew even redder and he walked off.

Cressida fanned herself and made a slight bee-line for an open door. She needed some air. She quickly glanced around, in the courtyard, seeing she was alone, she fished out a cigarette from a pocket she enchanted on the inside of her dress. 

“My, I don’t think that Elora Lefevre would be too happy to see her daughter partaking in smoking,” a dark voice came from behind her. 

Cressida turned around to see a tall, large man stalk out from the shadows. “Minister,” she quickly snuffed out the cigarette. “It is lovely to see you again.” 

Leonard Spencer-Moon walked into the moonlight, smiling as he did. “It is nice to see you as well, Miss Lefevre. I see and hear that you are doing well in Hogwarts this year? Better than back at Beauxbatons I presume?”

“Yes, sir. Well, maybe not better completely, but better as in, I am in a better place myself.”

“I see,” he replied unemotional. “It was quite strange for your family to pack you up and send you out here without another word. You know as well as I do, Miss Lefevre that Grindelwald wants your family to fight alongside him. That is the true reason as to why you are here, correct? Because of your uncle? Thomas was it?”

Cressida froze. It had been ages since anyone mentioned her extended family by name. It was unsettling to hear it from the British Minister of Magic. “No sir, I am here simply because my parents believe that I will be safer under Hogwarts supervision than at Beauxbatons.” She had to breathe, it was lies on top of lies, and now to the bloody Minister. “And I am rather glad that I arrived here, as I met some wonderful people. And if you would excuse me, I would like to return to my date now.” 

Cressida quickly turned away, worried she might give something up. “Miss Lefevre, he’s watching. He’s always watching.” Leonard called out after her. Cressida paused for just a moment and nodded her head swiftly in understanding before returning to the Great Hall. 

She kept her head down and walked back into the Hall, it was bursting at the seams with laughter from the other students. 

“Cress, here,” Verdell appeared from out of nowhere, offering her a glass of liquid. 

“What is it?” Cressida questioned.

“Er, lemonade I think. Thane McDonough said to give it to you.” 

“McKinnon,” Cressida corrected, hiding a smirk. She knew very well that Thane was a Hogwarts version of a black market dealer. His specialty, firewhisky. Cressida saw Thane watching her from across the room with a smirk. He was known to pass out firewhisky to others on occasion. She tipped the glass up to Thane and took a swig. The firewhisky burned her throat, but after seeing the minister, something to take the edge off would not be so bad.

“Come on Dell,” Cressida said, finishing off the ‘lemonade.’ “Let’s go dance.” 

The two danced on in the crowd of other students for close to an hour. At some point, Cressida began waltzing around with Abraxas when Verdell went to get a drink. And Abraxas, never one to give up a show, led Cressida in a great waltz around the Hall. 

“You and your bloody need to be the center of attention,” Cressida joked, as they were dancing around a couple of fourth years.

“Obviously.” He wiggled his eyebrows at her. “Ah, Rowle. Want your date back?”

Verdell had returned to the hall. Students were just beginning to slowly start to filter out. “Sure.” Verdell shrugged and turned away from the two. 

Cressida let go of Abraxas’s hand and grabbed Verdell’s. “Are you alright?” 

“‘M’fine,” he grumbled. 

Cressida, annoyed, drug him out of the hall. He barely protested, just following along, while not letting go of her hand. Cressida led them to the top of the Astronomy Tower. 

“Verdell. What’s wrong?” Cressida asked, wringing her hands. 

“Brought me to the spot where I asked you to this bloody ball,” he mumbled, looking down the tower.

Earlier in October, after the announcement of the ball. Verdell had surprised Cressida with a proposal to the ball by enchanting a few butterflies to form the question, ‘Hallows Eve Ball?’ Cressida, of course had said yes.

“Dell…”

He huffed and turned to face her. “It just seems that you would rather be with Abraxas most days. You two are inseparable and I don’t want to make you upset because you are with me right now, when you could be down there with bloody Malfoy.” He paused and looked back towards the Black Lake. “I know it might seem like I’m a lot. Hell, I am no Malfoy, they are pureblood royalty, but I think that I could potentially...dunno, make you happy. But if you’d be the happiest you could be with Abraxas, I have to let that happen, you know?” He turned his head to face Cressida again.

“Verdell,” Cressida was both amused and flattered by it all. “Abraxas is like a brother to me. You have to know that.” Verdell’s brows furrowed in confusion. “Abraxas is just a good friend, very good friend. Same as Freddie.” 

“You just seem to like him an awful lot. You are always together, always happy. I just thought that you probably would feel happier with him.”

“Well,” Cressida began. “I don’t feel the same way towards Abraxas as I do to you, Dell. You ought to have known that by now.” 

“I-“ Verdell began. “Wait, feelings as in. Like, _feelings, feelings_ towards me?” 

Cressida nodded, amusement dancing in her eyes. She placed her hand on top of his.

He bit his lip and looked at her. “Can, I, er,” he looked at her and motioned with his hand.

Cressida nodded, feeling her cheeks grow warm. Verdell leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. His lips were soft and tasted of vanilla and lemons. He wrapped his arms around Cressida’s back, deepening the kiss. Cressida placed her hands on his chest, drawing herself closer to him. Quickly, Verdell broke the kiss. 

“Sorry,” he mumbled. Cressida gave him a strange look. “Oh Merlin! It was bloody awful wasn’t it? That was the, er, first time I’ve ever, you know,” he was gesturing with hands now, words seemed to have failed him.

“Verdell,” Cressida said slowly. “It is quite alright, I promise you that. And it wasn’t bad at all.” Verdell did not look too sure of himself. “Verdell. I promise you, hey! Dell, look. It’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”

The boy’s cheeks were exceptionally red. “Sure, but I’d imagined that wasn’t your first kiss?” 

“No,” Cressida said somberly, her mind trailing back to the beach. “No, it was not. But it doesn’t matter Dell. I promise you it was alright.” 

He finally smiled a little. “Are you sure?” 

“I’m sure,” Cressida smiled back. “Come on it's late, we should probably get back to the common room. I don’t fancy running into anyone asking questions about where we ran off too.” 

Verdell held out his hand to Cressida. She immediately intertwined their fingers. Verdell felt like a safe home. Something that Cressida needed in this yet uncharted land. The two were walking silently past the second floor girl’s lavatory, when Cressida stopped dead in her tracks.

Araminta Young, a fifth year Gryffindor, was frozen upside down. Dead in her tracks. She was still in her long royal blue gown. Her hair was loose hanging above her head, but it was frozen, as if she was encapsulated in ice. In her left hand she held a small compact mirror. 

There, written in a silvery liquid to the right of Araminta read the phrase, ‘Watch out Mudbloods, or you’ll be next.’

A pair of footsteps came up behind them. “Bloody hell. Another thing we got to worry ‘bout now,” Leonard said, lighting a cigarette. “Better call Dippet.” He turned towards Cressida. “Wouldn’t want you to face another incident.” He blew a ring of smoke towards Cressida, a mournful look in his eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry I did not update for a couple of days. Hopefully since this was a longer chapter, it made up for it! Love you all very much<3


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